neurospora
noun
neu·ros·po·ra nu̇-ˈrä-sp(ə-)rə 
nyu̇-
: any of a genus (Neurospora of the family Sordariaceae) of ascomycetous fungi which are used extensively in genetic research and have black perithecia and persistent asci and some of which have salmon-pink or orange spore masses and are severe pests in bakeries
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from New Latin, genus name, from neuro- neuro- + -spora -spora; probably so called from the striations on the spores
Note: Taxon introduced by the American mycologists Cornelius Lott Shear (1865-1956) and Bernard Ogilvie Dodge (1872-1960) in "Life Histories and Heterothallism of the Red Bread-Mold Fungi of the Monilia sitophila Group," Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 34, no. 11 (June 1, 1927), pp. 1019-42.
First Known Use
1928, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
neurospora
noun
neu·ros·po·ra n(y)u̇-ˈräs-pə-rə
1
capitalized : a genus (family Sphaeriaceae) of ascomycetous fungi which are used extensively in genetic research and have black perithecia and persistent asci and some of which have salmon pink or orange spore masses and are severe pests in bakeries
2
: any ascomycetous fungus of the genus Neurospora