芽生菌病由皮炎芽生菌引起。[13]Larone D. Medically important fungi, a guide to identification. Herdon, VA: ASM Press; 1995.这是一种双态性真菌,生长为白色棉絮状菌丝,在 25°C (77°F) 条件下变为棕褐色或褐色,并在 37°C (98.6°F) 条件下生长为奶油色至棕褐色的堆积状或皱状酵母。[13]Larone D. Medically important fungi, a guide to identification. Herdon, VA: ASM Press; 1995.皮炎芽生菌作为腐生性霉菌存在于环境中,并已从河狸池和窝、河岸垂钓点的土壤和有机碎屑以及木柴堆等位置分离出该霉菌。[9]Klein BS, Vergeront JM, Davis JP. Epidemiologic aspects of blastomycosis, the enigmatic systemic mycosis. Semin Respir Infect. 1986;1:29-39.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3317597?tool=bestpractice.com[10]Klein BS, Vergeront JM, DiSalvo AF, et al. Two outbreaks of blastomycosis along rivers in Wisconsin. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987;136:1333-1338.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3688635?tool=bestpractice.com[14]Baumgardner DJ, Paretsky DP. The in vitro isolation of Blastomyces dermatitidis from a woodpile in north central Wisconsin, USA. Med Mycol. 1999;37:163-168.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10421847?tool=bestpractice.com[14]Baumgardner DJ, Paretsky DP. The in vitro isolation of Blastomyces dermatitidis from a woodpile in north central Wisconsin, USA. Med Mycol. 1999;37:163-168.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10421847?tool=bestpractice.com
也有关于芽生菌属两种新菌种的报告,即 B gilchristii[15]Brown EM, McTaggart LR, Zhang SX, et al. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a cryptic species Blastomyces gilchristii, sp. nov. within the human pathogenic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. PLoS One. 2013;8:e59237.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3606480/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23533607?tool=bestpractice.com 和 B percursus。[16]Dukik K, Muñoz JF, Jiang Y, et al. Novel taxa of thermally dimorphic systemic pathogens in the Ajellomycetaceae (Onygenales). Mycoses. 2017;60:296-309.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28176377?tool=bestpractice.com但二者作为病原体的重要性仍有待确定。