Morphological evidence for keratinolytic activity of Scopulariopsis spp. isolates from nail lesions and the air.

The morphological expression of human hair and nail invasion in vitro by 31 isolates of nine Scopulariopsis species was studied by light microscopy on whole material and on semi-thin sections, as well as by transmission electron microscopy. Only some isolates of Scopulariopsis brumptii, S. candida, S. carbonaria and S. koningii were keratinolytically active. They came either from nail lesions or from outdoor aerosols. The most active isolate belonged to S. koningii and was recovered from a fingernail lesion. Both hair and nail degradation followed the biochemical and morphogenetic model described by the authors for other keratinolytic fungi.