IDENTIFICATION OF HARMFUL FUNGAL CONTAMINATION IN MOISTURE DAMAGED LABORATORIES

Abstract

This study is aimed at isolating and identifying filamentous fungi from different environmental sources in two laboratories using the molecular technique. The fungal species were isolated from indoor air sampling. The samples were collected from different locations in the laboratories. The isolation of fungi from indoor air was implemented using a SKC Quick Take 30 sample pump on Malt Extract Agar (MEA) (fungi) plates. Each air sample was collected for 2 min at sampling flow rate of 28.3 L/min. The plates were incubated at 26 ˚C for three to five days, then the fungal colonies were observed and pure cultures were maintained. The identification of fungi at the genus level was carried out using macroscopic examinations depending on the colony colour, shape, hyphae, conidia, conidiophores and arrangement of spores. For the molecular identification of the isolated fungi at the species level, the extracted fungal DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a specific internal transcribed spacer primer (ITS1/ITS4). The PCR products were sequenced and compared with the other related sequences in GenBank (NCBI).The result showed harmful fungi contamination in both laboratories, with five detected in Laboratory A and three detected in Laboratory B (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus aculeatus, Penicillium sclerotium, Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp. and Byssochlamys spectabilis). The results obtained in this study indicate that Laboratory A's exposure to airborne fungi is generally high and not safe for occupants.
Keywords: Fungal contamination; airborne; indoor environment; health problems; indoor air quality (IAQ).

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