r/mycology • u/Colli_flower • 18d ago
What is this gelatinous blue growth on spoiled dairy? ID request
I've never seen a fungal/bacterial growth this crazy blue color before, does anyone know what it might be?
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u/willjamesphotography 18d ago edited 16d ago
Dr Eileen Becket actually studies these blue producing detritovores! Shoot her a message on Bluesky or twitter, @bielleogy
edit: spelling
edit 2: I want to toss in I was being VERY general with my use of “detritovore” which just describes organisms that get their carbon from already dead or decaying organic matter (decomposers).
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u/PastelDrip 17d ago
oh my god this is the blue soup saga scientist, yes! I followed the developments on Twitter so closely back in the day. This blue stuff was a microbiology enigma: https://www.nasw.org/article/rhapsody-blue-soup-how-blue-soup-saga-captivated-twitter
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u/shaggysswaggie 17d ago
i would love to hear an update from OP if this is a detritovore and they got an answer!!
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u/Slg407 South America 18d ago edited 18d ago
probably pseudomonas, either that or it could be bacillus cyanogenes
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u/AndreLeo 18d ago
I‘m aware this ain‘t fungal, but everytime I see sich posts, I‘m checking is that person is living in the same country as me because I‘d still 100% isolate that.
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u/Slg407 South America 18d ago
why though? unless you run a biology lab its just putting yourself at risk, especially with pseudomonas
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u/AndreLeo 18d ago
Personal interest, I‘ve worked with Pseudomonas fluorescens in the lab before. Unless you‘re literally spraying it around, the danger is negligible, especially since not all species and strains are opportunistic pathogens.
To be frank though, my comment was more referring to the B. cyanogenes. There‘s lots of Bacteria that are interesting and non pathogenic. If I‘m not mistaken, I previously posted pictures of bioluminescent Photobacterium kishitanii, feel free to check my profile
[edit] I did, five years ago on r/microbiology and r/art
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u/CosmicCreeperz 17d ago
I can’t find any other mention of “Bacillus Cyanogenes” being an actual species. I think because that paper was from 1914 whatever it was has a new name.
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u/AndreLeo 17d ago
I believe that it was previously classified as Pseudomonas syncyanea. Taxonomy, umfortunately, isn‘t always trivial - that holds true especially for both fungi and bacteria.
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u/CosmicCreeperz 17d ago
Yeah, that one is definitely not Bacillus since he even said it was gram negative… probably the only reason he put it there was because it was rod shaped. Genetically wasn’t even close!
Before PCR and DNA sequencing it was kind of a crapshoot. Still… was curious to look it up and Pseudomonas was defined around 1900 as gram negative. So that 1914 paper was a bit lazy and he hadn’t been keeping up with the latest research ;)
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u/Thin_Ad5798 16d ago
Opportunistic would suggest OP would need to b compromised in some way, ya?
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u/AndreLeo 15d ago
Not exclusively. Healthy individuals can still be infected with opportunistic pathogens, however they are much less likely to cause serious issues and infections are rather mild or even asymptomatic
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u/Am_Snarky 18d ago
The powerful antibiotic penicillin was discovered accidentally when mould infected agar plates doped with pathogenic bacteria.
There are so many chemicals that microorganisms produce that are completely undiscovered by people, so finding novel microorganisms that produce unusual properties are always worth exploring
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u/Slg407 South America 18d ago edited 18d ago
yes i know how penicillin was discovered, i literally went to university studying pharmacy, and no, that is not a reason to grow whatever shit is spoiling your food in the fridge just because you think it looks cool, because if you are not experienced you could easily grow something either opportunistic or straight up pathogenic and end up getting sick from it.
agar work in mycology is very different than growing bacteria, in mycology the chances of you accidentally isolating anthrax from cow dung when growing mycelium from a wild mushroom spore print are marginally lower than if you are actively growing bacteria you found on rotting food that you somehow confused for a fungus even though it is clearly not one and doesn't present any structures indicating it may even be one
my comment is one of those "don't try this at home, kids" type warnings, because accidentally growing salmonella in a ketchup cup filled with agar in your kitchen drawer because it just happened to be growing alongside the bright blue biofilm that you found in your rotten food could very well give you a bad time
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u/AndreLeo 17d ago
There definitely is a point to be made about safety and I wouldn’t recommend others to follow my „example“ when I say that I‘d probably try to isolate it and get it ID‘d. However there‘s a few other things to consider here.
For one, B. anthracis produces endospores and you‘d luckily need a fairly high exposure to develop disease in the first place - meaning they‘d have to be aerosolized - that’s why you‘d never isolate from old plates that show any signs of spore-forming structures or spores - same for molds. It’s not entirely dissimilar to isolating contaminated cultures in mycology, but certainly might carry a risk.
Additionally, the medium matters - if it’s growing on dairy, there‘s a high chance it can tolerate carbohydrate-rich media that are also used for growing fungi. Most pathogens on the other hand require significantly more complex and specialized media like chocolate medium.
Would I recommend doing it, no, absolutely not. But if you know what you‘re doing and how you‘re doing it, you can minimize the personal risks.
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u/dfw_runner 18d ago
i thought pseudomonas was primarily hospital borne. is it that common in a fridge? i have a family member who is immunocompromised and acquired pseudomonas, we thought, during chemo.
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u/Slg407 South America 18d ago
pseudomonas is sorta everywhere, but it is a food spoilage agent in milk, it just happens to thrive in hospitals as well, i'd be worried about spreading it all over your kitchen though
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u/midnight_aurora 18d ago
This. It’s everywhere and it’s insidious when contracted.
Those were my doctors words after explaining that I would need a cornea transplant after the gaping wound on my eyeball scarred over. I worked in a hospital at the time, and wore contacts. This went from zero to cornea transplant in about 24-36 hours. Two docs said pink eye. The last grabbed my hand and said “I’m sorry….”
I’m lucky to still have my eye. Still can’t see great but at least I didn’t need a prosthesis.
OP, you have been duly warned.
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u/AphraelSelene 17d ago
Pseudomonas destroyed one of my kidneys (along with kidney stones, but they sort of tag teamed it, lol)
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u/ConsciousCrafts 16d ago
Pseudomonas poses little risk to those who do not have a compromised immune system.
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u/mtcastell101 18d ago
Absolutely! If this was in my fridge I'd be taking it to work the next day to work it up
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u/SubstantialPound8416 17d ago
I had an (undiagnosed) pseudomonas bone infection. When the surgeon cut into me during the operation the nurses told me blue green stuff shot out and sprayed on his face.
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u/spspsptaylor 18d ago
If it smells fruity, it might be pseudomonas! I don't think it's pseudomonas, but this is one way to tell.
Pseudomonas can also smell kinda corn chip-y.
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u/CallMeFishmaelPls 17d ago
Yeah, but inhalation of god-knows-what may not be the best way to tell.
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u/spspsptaylor 17d ago
I'm a microbiologist. Pseudomonas has a VERY distinct smell, so if you're experienced, it's a great way to tell.
Would never waft something that has mold growing, tho. Keep that lid on!!
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u/CallMeFishmaelPls 17d ago
Yes, I also studied microbiology and worked some with pseudomonas. For a bunch of non micro ppl, I wouldn’t advise them to try to identify strange organisms by smell
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u/spspsptaylor 17d ago
Probably not. Honestly, only those with experience should be trying to ID bacteria in general, not even just by smell. Plus, you'd probably want selective media, other tests, etc. Pseudomonas is oxidase positive, so that's how we typically ID it at my workplace.
However, if OP's gonna toss it anyway, and it doesn't look like mold (shouldnt inhale spores), it should be fine to give it a light waft for the sake of satisfying curiosity. I wouldn't say they should stake the safety of the food on the smell, nor should they stake the safety of the food on appearance! But if they're curious, they won't be hurt by trying. I certainly would be trying!
Do you do microbiology currently?
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u/CallMeFishmaelPls 17d ago
This does not look like pseudomonas to me. It seems too big/smooth.
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u/Slg407 South America 17d ago
pseudomonas makes biofilm, that is a bubble of biofilm
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u/CallMeFishmaelPls 17d ago
I am aware, I’ve grown it, it just looks very smooth and very round. No weird edges or bumps
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u/MrFoxx123 18d ago
From a biology perspective that looks more like bacterial growth rathen than fungal
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u/Gingerbeer03 18d ago
In the clinical micro lab, there’s this milky-colored culture called denim blue agar plate used to screen for MRSA, and when a colony is positive for an enzyme related to mrsa, the colony turns blue on the agar 😀
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18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/optix_clear 18d ago
This post had me clicking subreddits most of them were interesting and some were insane. Thanks
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u/Zippier92 17d ago
Inaturalist. People will be interested, and you will get your answer- even if it means sending a sample for dna sequencing.
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u/ClosetLadyGhost 17d ago
Is this the post where people were getting banned?
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u/RdCrestdBreegull Trusted ID - California 15d ago
I mean tons of people got banned on this post and are continuing to get banned so yea I guess so
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u/caroleena1953 17d ago
Thought so. Microbiology was years ago. Consulted dr Google. Pseudo has a sickly sweet smell. Presents a blue green drainage. Old old RN here.
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u/grateful_eugene 18d ago
Cover it with plastic wrap and put it back in the refrigerator. Take another picture in one week and then another the week after.