Molecular profiling of fungal communities in moisture damaged buildings before and after remediation--a comparison of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

Background: Indoor microbial contamination due to excess moisture is an important contributor to human illness in both residential and occupational settings. However, the census of microorganisms in the indoor environment is limited by the use of selective, culture-based detection techniques. By using clone library sequencing of full-length internal transcribed spacer region combined with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for 69 fungal species or assay groups and cultivation, we have been able to generate a more comprehensive description of the total indoor mycoflora.

Quantitative PCR analysis of fungi and bacteria in building materials and comparison to culture-based analysis.

Prolonged moisture on building materials can lead to microbial growth on them. Microbes can emit spores, metabolites and structural parts into the indoor air and thus, cause adverse health effects of people living and working in these buildings. So far, culture methods have been used for assessment of microbial contamination of building materials.

Effects of moisture damage and renovation on microbial conditions and pupils' health in two schools--a longitudinal analysis of five years.

Airborne microbes and pupils' symptoms were monitored in a moisture-damaged (index) school and a reference school for five consecutive years. These surveys were carried out in two separate years before the renovation of the index school, during the renovation, and one and two years after the renovation. Microbial concentrations were higher in the index school than those in the reference school before and during renovation, but afterwards, the levels decreased to the level of the reference school.

Microbial exposure, symptoms and inflammatory mediators in nasal lavage fluid of kitchen and clerical personnel in schools.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate how the microbial conditions of kitchen facilities differ from those in other school facilities. The health status of the personnel was also studied.

Materials And Methods: The microbial investigations were conducted in six moisture-damaged schools and two reference schools.

Media for cultivation of indoor streptomycetes.

The growth of 10 indoor Streptomyces spp. isolates on nutritionally complex and selective 26 media revealed that the mycelium production had a tendency to increase in order: starch-casein < glycerol-arginine < glucose-tryptone, and NH(4)NO(3) < Na-caseinate-asparagine. Yeast extract increased mycelium biosynthesis, but not always the growth rate.

Characterisation of Streptomyces spp. isolated from water-damaged buildings.

Abstract Saprophytic Streptomyces spp. common in soil and producing biologically active compounds have been related to abnormal microbial growth in buildings where occupants may have health problems. We characterised 11 randomly selected water-damaged building isolates.