Basidiobolus ranarum

Basidiobolus ranarum is a microscopic fungus in the order Entomophthorales.

Life cycle

It produces large, spherical, asexual spores that are forcibly discharged. These spores can germinate directly to produce hyphae. When they land in an unfavorable location, they can alternately germinate to produce a long, slender capilliconidiophore that bears a single, falcate capilliconidium. At the distal tip of the capilliconidium is a sticky mucous drop that is presumed to aid in dispersal. B. ranarum can also produce thick-walled resting spores that are presumably the sites of meiosis.

B. ranarum can be isolated from decaying leaf litter and the excrement of frogs and terrestrial, insect-eating reptiles. It has been considered a commensal of frogs, although there is no evidence that it multiplies or persists in a frog's gut. It can be a human pathogen, causing a disease called basidiobolomycosis (formerly entomophthoromycosis).