The capability of fungi isolated from moldy dwellings to produce toxins

Abstract

Objectives:The main objective was analysis and assessment of toxinogenic capabilities of fungi isolated from moldy surfaces in residential rooms in an urban agglomeration situated far from flooded areas in moderate climate zone. Material and Methods: The assessment of environmental exposure to mycotoxins was carried out in samples collected from moldy surfaces in form of scrapings and airborne dust from 22 moldy dwellings in winter season. In each sample 2 mycotoxins were analyzed: sterigmatocystin and roquefortine C produced by Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium chrysogenum, respectively. Mycotoxins were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in: scrapings from moldy surfaces, mixture of all species of fungi cultured from scrapings on microbiological medium (malt extract agar), pure cultures of Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium chrysogenum cultured from scrapings on microbiological medium; mycotoxins in the indoor air dust were also analyzed. Results: The production of sterigmatocystin by individual strains of Aspergillus versicolor cultured on medium was confirmed for 8 of 13 isolated strains ranging 2.1-235.9 μg/g and production of roquefortine C by Penicillium chrysogenum for 4 of 10 strains ranging 12.9-27.6 μg/g. In 11 of 13 samples of the mixture of fungi cultured from scrapings, in which Aspergillus versicolor was found, sterigmatocystin production was at the level of 3.1-1683.2 μg/g, whereas in 3 of 10 samples in which Penicillium chrysogenum occurred, the production of roquefortine C was 0.9-618.9 μg/g. The analysis did not show in any of the tested air dust and scrapings samples the presence of analyzed mycotoxins in the amount exceeding the determination limit. Conclusions: The capability of synthesis of sterigmatocystin by Aspergillus versicolor and roquefortine C by Penicillium chrysogenum growing in mixtures of fungi from scrapings and pure cultures in laboratory conditions was confirmed. The absence of mycotoxins in scrapings and air dust samples indicates an insignificant inhalatory exposure to mycotoxins among inhabitants in moldy flats of urban agglomeration situated far from flooded territories. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(5): [823][824][825][826][827][828][829][830][831][832][833][834][835][836]

A Scoping Review on Fungus and Mycotoxin Studies in the Building’s Environment: Mycotoxin Analysis by Mass Spectrometry

“…Most studies on these areas were conducted in European countries, with four studies in France [21][22][23]32]. One of each study was conducted in Italy [39], Croatia [30], Poland [27], Denmark [31], and Germany [25], respectively. Two studies were conducted in Finland [25], but another was in collaboration with researchers from the Netherlands and Spain [29].…”

“…Indoor air samples and study locations were selected from water-damaged home buildings [21,24,25,27], schools and kindergartens [28,29,31,40], workplaces (farms and industries) [22,23,39], and few selected buildings and locations [30] mention their location [32]. Regarding study scope and objective, most studies provided qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the microbial toxins in indoor air and their metabolites found in samples.…”

“…Lanier et al [22] conducted an in vitro study on a specifc fungus to check on a specifc mycotoxin produced. Jeżak et al [27] determined the toxicogenic potential of fungus isolates from moldy surfaces.…”

“…Tis approach is highly relevant as several mycotoxins tend to cooccur with others, regardless of the similarity in their chemical structure [18][19][20]. Te most common mycotoxin extraction method applied for an indoor environment is liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with a wide variety of solvents such as methanol [21][22][23][24], acetonitrile [25][26][27], and dichloromethane [28,29]. In addition, the combination of the solvent mixture, e.g., methanol, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate and chloroform and methanol, in diferent ratios has also been adopted [23,[30][31][32].…”

Fungal Contamination of Building Materials and the Aerosolization of Particles and Toxins in Indoor Air and Their Associated Risks to Health: A Review

“…It should be noted that most of these studies were carried out in mouldy dwellings or dwellings in which inhabitants displayed respiratory problems [ 9 , 67 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Data are less numerous on normal buildings with no dampness, no visible mould contamination and no respiratory problems for occupants [ 63 , 66 , 75 , 76 , 81 , 82 , 87 , 88 ].…”