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METHODS TO CLASSIFY ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES BASED ON MOLD ANALYSES BY QPCR
Citation:
Haugland, R A., T Meklin, M Varma, L Wymer, AND S J. Vesper. METHODS TO CLASSIFY ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES BASED ON MOLD ANALYSES BY QPCR. 5th International Conference on Bioaerosols, Fungi, Bacteria, Mycotoxins and Human Health, Saratoga Springs, NY, September 10 - 12, 2003. E. Johanning (ed.), Boyd Printing Company (B Print Services, Inc.), Albany, NY, 327-334, (2005).
Impact/Purpose:
To understand children's risks from exposure to molds in their environment and to explore risk management options for mitigating those risks.
Description:
Quantitative PCR (QPCR) analysis of molds in indoor environmental samples produces highly accurate speciation and enumeration data. In a number of studies, eighty of the most common or potentially problematic indoor molds were identified and quantified in dust samples from homes. Among the molds identified and quanitfied are 25 species of Aspergillus and 36 species of Penicillium. Other molds in the analysis include Alternaria alternata, Stachybotrys chartarum, Chaetomium globosum, 3 species of Cladosporium, 3 species of Ulocladium, 3 species of Trichoderma and many others. The primer and probe sequences for all assays are published in US Patent No. 6,387,652. This technology is now being used commercially by nine licensed companies in the US and one in the UK. The mold data from this study were analyzed by cluster analysis based on quantitative species occurrence. Cluster analysis was also performed based on water requirements (low, medium, high) for growth of each of the molds. Finally, a weighted diversity index was developed to classify each sample. QPCR results provide a unique insight into the mold characterization of homes and may provide a way to define a home's mold condition as "outside the norm".