Black bread mold Rhizopus – characteristic spore types Which combination lists the characteristic spore types found in the life cycle of the black bread mold Rhizopus, including both asexual and sexual stages?

Introduction / Context:
Rhizopus is a classic fast growing bread mold often used to illustrate asexual and sexual reproduction in molds. Recognizing which spore types it produces helps students distinguish major fungal lineages and laboratory identification features.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Rhizopus is a filamentous mold with coenocytic hyphae.
• It reproduces asexually with sporangia that release numerous spores.
• It also forms a sexual resting spore under compatible mating interactions.

Concept / Approach:
The asexual spores of Rhizopus are sporangiospores formed inside sporangia borne on sporangiophores. During sexual reproduction, two compatible hyphae fuse to form a zygosporangium that matures into a thick walled zygospore. Rhizopus does not produce ascospores or basidiospores, which belong to Ascomycota and Basidiomycota respectively. Arthrospores and blastospores are asexual forms typical of other groups and yeasts. Therefore the correct pair for Rhizopus is sporangiospore and zygospore.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify Rhizopus as a mold with sporangia for asexual reproduction.Recall sexual process forming a zygospore as the durable stage.Exclude ascospore and basidiospore options belonging to other divisions.Select “Sporangiospore and Zygospore.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard lab manuals show Rhizopus sporangia as black pinhead structures on bread cultures and depict zygospore formation under nutrient limitation, confirming the spore types listed here.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Ascospore and basidiospore are sexual spores of different divisions, not produced by Rhizopus.
• Arthrospore and blastospore are asexual forms from other taxa.
• Conidium is a mitotic asexual spore typical of ascomycete molds, not the enclosed sporangiospore of Rhizopus.

Common Pitfalls:
Assuming all molds produce conidia. Many zygomycete like molds produce sporangiospores inside sporangia rather than naked conidia.

Final Answer:
Sporangiospore and Zygospore.