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ENVIRONMENTAL AND POTASSIUM CHLORATE EFFECTS ON THE GROWTH OF CHAETOMIUM GLOBOSUM
Citation:
WRIGHT, D., C. BILES, T. R. LEE, AND RICK WILKIN. ENVIRONMENTAL AND POTASSIUM CHLORATE EFFECTS ON THE GROWTH OF CHAETOMIUM GLOBOSUM. Presented at Research Day at the State Capital, Oklahoma City, OK, March 27, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Mold has been blamed for causing human health problems at work and at home. One fungus often found in indoor environments is Chaetomium globosum. This fungus produces sexual reproductive structures called perithecia (Fig. 2) that can be easily visualized on a media plate. Malt extract agar was found to be the best media for determining hyphae growth and perithecia production (Fig. 2, 3, 4), however the fungus grew well on filter paper, gypsum board, ceiling tile agar, carboxyl-methyl cellulose (CMC) agar, and potato dextrose agar. Over abundant growth of the fungus was observed on potato dextrose agar (PDA), in which individual perithecia were indistinguishable (Fig. 4). No perithecia grew on CMC during the two weeks the experiments were conducted. Potassium chlorate is known to mutate the nitrogen synthesis in many fungi. Experiments were conducted to determine at what concentration of KClO3 hyphae growth and perithecia production were inhibited. Hyphae growth was inhibited between 5 and 10 g/L of KClO3 in MEA (Fig. 8). The diameter of the hyphae was also measured at the various levels of KClO3 and was found to show a small significant decrease in the diameter as the levels of KClO3 increased (Fig. 10, 11). Perithecia formation was inhibited in KClO3 levels as low as 2.0 g/L (Fig. 13, 14). Enhanced pigmentation was observed when the fungus was grown at 30° C when compared to 25° C (Fig. 5). Certain media also stimulated a pink/red pigment (Fig. 6). Further studies need to be conducted to see if KClO3 will inhibit the growth of fungi on building materials.