What is Rhizopus - Fungi?
Rhizopus is a common laboratory contaminant. It is a spoiling mould and found frequently on the surface of bread, fruits and vegetables. It can grow as weak facultative parasite under certain conditions, causing soft rot of sweet potato and leak of peach, raspberry, strawberry and some other fungal diseases in animals and human. Various species of Rhizopus are exploited industrially for production of cortisone (R. stolonifer), alcohol (R. oryzae), lactic acid and fumaric acid (R. oryzae, R. stolonifer).