What is Asteroid bodies and cigar-shaped globi may be produced by and explain in detail?
Sporothrix schenckii: 1. Microscopy: a direct microscopic examination of KOH mounts of specimen stained by methenamine silver stain shows asteroid body: a rounded or oval, basophilic, yeast like body with rays of an eosinophilic substance radiating from a yeast cell. 2. In culture S. schenckii - yeast phase appears as cigar-shaped cells and mould form contains hyphae carrying flower-like clusters of small conidia borne on delicate sterigmata. Ref: Textbook of Microbiology, Ananthanarayan and Paniker; 9th edition