Tolypocladium inflatum
| Tolypocladium inflatum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Fungi | 
| Division: | Ascomycota | 
| Class: | Sordariomycetes | 
| Order: | Hypocreales | 
| Family: | Ophiocordycipitaceae | 
| Genus: | Tolypocladium | 
| Species: | T. inflatum | 
| Binomial name | |
| Tolypocladium inflatum W. Gams (1971) | |
| Synonyms | |
| Pachybasium niveum O. Rostr. (1916) | |
Tolypocladium inflatum is an ascomycete fungus originally isolated from a Norwegian soil sample that, under certain conditions, produces the immunosuppressant drug ciclosporin. In its sexual stage (teleomorph) it is a parasite on scarab beetles. It forms a small, compound ascocarp that arises from the cadaver of its host beetle. In its asexual stage (anamorph) it is a white mold that grows on soil. It is much more commonly found in its asexual stage and this is the stage that was originally given the name Tolypocladium inflatum.