Radiomyces a genus in the Mucorales pathogenic for mice

The thermotolerant fungi Radiomyces spectabilis and R. embreei were tested for their ability to produce disease when injected intravenously into mice. All three strains of R. embreei tested were able to produce death in normal and cortisone-treated mice. Hyphal invasion was consistently observed in the kidneys of these animals, and involvement of the brain, heart and lungs was often seen at inoculum dosages of 10(4) and 10(5) spores. The single strain of R. spectabilis tested did not produce deaths; although cortisone-treated animals sometimes exhibited unilateral kidney involvement at necropsy.