Development of a fungus-specific PCR assay for detecting low-level fungi in an indoor environment

Zhou, Gu; Whong, Wen‐Zong; Ong, T.; Chen, B

doi:10.1006/mcpr.2000.0324

Cited by 131 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(17 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

102

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…(29) Recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunochemical methods have become available for fungal analysis. (34,(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41) There is currently, however, very little reference data available with these techniques.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Niemeier

Sivasubramani

Reponen

et al. 2006

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In an effort to better understand the relationship between different fungal sampling methods in the indoor environment, four methods were used to quantify mold contamination in 13 homes with visible mold. Swab, fungal spore source strength tester (FSSST), and air samples (total of 52 samples) were analyzed using both the microscopic (total spore count) and culture-based (CFU count) enumeration techniques. Settled dust samples were analyzed for culturable fungi only, as the microscopic enumeration was restricted by the masking effect. The relationships between the data obtained with the different sampling methods were examined using correlation analysis. Significant relationships were observed between the data obtained from swab and FSSST samples both by the total counting (r = 0.822, p <0.05) and by the CFU counting (r = 0.935, p <0.01). No relationships were observed between air and FSSST samples or air and settled dust samples. Percentage culturability of spores for each sampling method was also calculated and found to vary greatly for all three methods (swab: 0.03% to 63%, FSSST: 0.1% to >100%, air: 0.7% to 79%). These findings confirm that reliance on one sampling or enumeration method for characterization of an indoor mold source might not provide an accurate estimate of fungal contamination of a microenvironment. Furthermore, FSSST sampling appears to be an effective measurement of a mold source in the field, providing an upper bound estimate of potential mold spore release into the indoor air. Because of the small sample size of this study, however, further research is needed to better understand the observed relationships in this study. Keywords air sampling; indoor fungi; settled dustIt has been estimated that 20% to 40% of homes in Northern Europe and Canada have mold contamination. (1) This number is likely to be much higher in tropical and subtropical countries. (2,3) In the United States, as many as 40% of homes have mold problems. (1,4) Various health effects, such as respiratory symptoms, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, are associated with mold exposure. (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) A case control study conducted in Europe suggested a relationship between increases in symptoms in asthmatic patients and increased mold and moisture problems in the home. (13) Other studies have shown that exposure to visible mold, or excessive moisture, which promotes mold growth, leads to an increase in allergic symptoms. (6,8,(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) Toxicity caused by exposure to the metabolites of certain molds have also been linked to health effects. (6,21) However, the relationship between specific health effects and the mold spore concentration has not been well defined. (6) It has been criticized that the methodologies for sampling and analysis are neither

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Niemeier

Sivasubramani

Reponen

et al. 2006

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1D and 1E), when cells subjected to hydrocarbon stress. Fungal specific primer pair, FF2/FR1 (Zhou et al, 2000), was used in this study to amplify around 400 bp of the 18S rRNA genes from the newly isolated fungi (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DNA was extracted and purified using EZNA Fungal DNA kit, Omega Bio-Tek. Approximately 400bp of the fungal 18S rRNA gene were amplified using a fungal-specific primer pair FF2/FR1 (Zhou et al, 2000). The forward primer FF2 is: 5'-GGTTCTATTTTGTTGGTTTCTA-3', and the reverse is: 5'-CTCTCAATCTGTCAATCCTTATT-3'.…”

Section: Dna Extraction Purification and Amplificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The conditions for PCR were as follows: initial denaturation of DNA at 95°C for 3 min and then 35 cycles of three-step PCR amplifications consisting of denaturation at 94°C for 1 min, primer reannealing at 52°C for 1 min and extension at 72°C for 2 min. Samples were subjected to an additional extension at 72°C for 10 min at the end of the amplification cycles (Zhou et al, 2000).…”

Section: Dna Extraction Purification and Amplificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this research, three newly isolated marine fungi which are capable of utilization of some hydrocarbons as sole carbon sources were successfully identified using fungi-specific primer pair (FF2/FR1) (Zhou et al, 2000). The primer pair was used to amplify and molecularly characterize approximately 400 bp of the 18S rRNA gene.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Petroleum Hydrocarbon Utilization by Some Molecularly Identified Filamentous Marine Fungi Isolated from a Polluted Area in the Mediterranean Sea

2010

Egypt. J. Microbiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early Detection and Diagnosis of High‐Consequence Plant Pests in the United States

Cardwell

Hoffman

2008

Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The United States has over a billion acres of food, fiber, feed, and fuel production agriculture. US agriculture could be considered a large, soft target to those who would want to strike at the economy, the social stability, or the sense of security of the US citizenry. It would be technically easy to do. Early detection and diagnosis of pests and diseases of plants is the best way to limit spread and impact, whether they arrive naturally or are introduced deliberately. The US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Agriculture, together with its State Department of Agriculture partners, the Land Grant University System, the Cooperative Extension Service, and agricultural industry and commodity association partners have formal and nonformal surveillance systems, as well as networks of plant pest diagnostic facilities to accomplish early detection and diagnosis of newly introduced agricultural and forest pest agents. Due to the large geographic area that must be covered to be effective, physical surveillance has to be supplemented by predictive models and remote sensing technologies. Even when surveillance systems are working optimally, diagnostic laboratory throughput could be a bottle‐neck for the generation of information in near real time. The National Plant Diagnostic Network is a distributed system of laboratories designed to manage sample surge and produce data for syndromic analysis.

show abstract

Development of a fungus-specific PCR assay for detecting low-level fungi in an indoor environment

Cited by 131 publications

References 23 publications

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Petroleum Hydrocarbon Utilization by Some Molecularly Identified Filamentous Marine Fungi Isolated from a Polluted Area in the Mediterranean Sea

Early Detection and Diagnosis of High‐Consequence Plant Pests in the United States

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About