Rhizopus oligosporus Saito Fig. 6.

15
Colonies on CYA 50–60 mm diam, not usually
covering the whole Petri dish, low, plane and sparse,
with ill-defined margins, pale brown, sporangia
sparsely produced, brown, sometimes enclosed in
clear to brown droplets; reverse uncoloured to pale
brown. Colonies on MEA covering the whole Petri
dish, sometimes reaching, and adhering to, the lid,
coloured dark grey to black, sporangia abundant,
black; reverse uncoloured. On G25N, sometimes
germination. At 58C, no germination. At 378C,
colonies covering the whole Petri dish in a low,
very sparse, often cobwebby growth; reverse
uncoloured.
Sporangiophores best observed on MEA, stipes
150–400 mm long, usually with well developed short
rhizoids at or near the base, terminating in dark
sporangia, 80–120 mm diam, at 7 days usually broken
with spores dispersed; columellae persistent,
often split, but remaining spheroidal to pyriform,

25–75 mm diam or long; sporangiospores spherical

to subspheroidal, 3.0–3.5 mm diam, with thin, finely
spinose walls.
Distinctive features. In common with Rhizopus
microsporus, R. oligosporus differs from R. stolonifer
by shorter stipes and smaller columellae, by the
absence of white immature sporangia and by
strong growth at 378C. It is distinguished from R.
oryzae by production of smaller columellae and
smaller spores. R. oligosporus produces larger
columellae than isolates of R. microsporus and
forms smooth to spinose spores.
Taxonomy. Schipper and Stalpers (1984) reduced
Rhizopus oligosporus to the status of a variety of
R. microsporus, and this was maintained by Zheng
et al. (2007a). However, this taxon deserves species
status as a domesticated species used in, and
probably confined to, food fermentations. Its derivation
fromR. microsporus seems likely, as the two taxa
share many properties. Using a detailed light and
scanning electron microscopy study, Jennessen et al.
(2008) have illustrated criteria for separating R. oligosporus
from related species. Sporangiospores of R. oligosporus
are often larger and less regularly shaped
than those of other species. This is likely to be the
result of domestication (Jennessen et al., 2008).
Physiology. Maximum growth temperature of
13 isolates was 45–498C (Zheng et al., 2007a).
Mycotoxins. No mycotoxins are known to be
produced. Weak toxicity to ducklings was reported
by Rabie et al. (1985). However, only a single isolate
was tested.
Ecology. Rhizopus oligosporus is used in food fermentations,
the most notable product being tempeh,
162 6 Zygomycetes
which is produced in Southeast Asian countries,
especially in Indonesia. Cooked, dehulled soybeans
are soaked for 2–3 days, then inoculated from a
previous batch or, more commonly now, with a starter
culture, usually R. oligosporus. Fermentation
takes place under ambient (tropical) conditions, preferably
with air temperatures of 25–288C for 36–48 h
(Hesseltine, 1965, 1991; Ko and Hesseltine, 1979;
Beuchat, 1987; Nout and Rombouts, 1990). Feng
et al. (2007) reported the production of volatiles by
R. oligosporus during the fermentation of soybean
and barley tempeh. R. oligosporus has also been used
to increase the functional properties of foods and
reduce the levels of allergenic proteins in buckwheat
(Handoyo et al., 2006). As noted above, R. oligosporus
appears to be a domesticated fungus. It has
rarely, if ever, been reliably reported from sources
other than fermented foods.
References. Hesseltine (1965); Schipper and Stalpers
(1984); Zheng et al. (2007a).