Rhinosporidium seeberi

Rhinosporidium seeberi is the etiologic agent of rhinosporidiosis, a disease of humans and other animals affecting the mucous membranes and other tissues. The videos below show mature sporangia from a Sri Lankan man with rhinossporidiosis in his nose. Mature sporangia with endoconidia were placed on a glass slide and were stimulated by the addition of water. After 2 to 5 minutes at the pore site, the mature endoconidia emerged from the sporangium’s pore in an organized manner. The videos show some sections of the process during the first hour.

To our knowledge, this is the first time the release of R. seeberi endoconidia has been captured in a video. Enjoy it!