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Comparison of dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol and Sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and chloramphenicol for airborne mold sampling

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Abstract

The more the mold species isolated on a culture medium, the more the sampling environment is represented accurately. According to the sampling purpose, it is crucial to use the best culture medium for mold. However, no study is available regarding the comparison of dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol (DRBC) and Sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and chloramphenicol (SDA-CHX-CHL) culture media in terms of their application for airborne sampling, isolation, and identification of fungi. Airborne mold samples were impacted onto both DRBC and SDA-CHX-CHL, simultaneously using single-stage Andersen sampler. The limit of detection (LOD) value for airborne mold count was 7 CFU m−3 (1 colony growth on the Petri dish). The total mold counts (TMC) ranged between <7 and 504 CFU m−3 (med 56 CFU m−3) and <7 and 1218 CFU m−3 (med 259 CFU m−3), collected on SDA-CHX-CHL and DRBC, respectively. Significantly higher TMC were observed on DRBC than on SDA regardless of the sampling environment (i.e, indoor or outdoor) (p < 0.05). Among the most predominant mold genera, observation frequencies of Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. on both culture media were found to be more than 70%. Observation frequencies of Cladosporium spp., Alternaria spp., and yeast were found to be higher in samples collected on DRBC than those on SDA-CHX-CHL. Finally, DRBC was found to be superior to SDA in terms of both number of colonies and number of genera isolated from the air.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported financially by The Scientific and Technological Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). Project No: 112Y059. Authors also thank to Osman Cotuker and Deniz Tasdibi for field studies and to Catherine Yigit for English proofreading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020, Canakkale, Turkey

    Sibel Mentese & Elif Palaz

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Canakkale, Turkey

    Muserref Tatman Otkun

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  1. Sibel Mentese
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  2. Muserref Tatman Otkun
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  3. Elif Palaz
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Correspondence to Sibel Mentese.

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Mentese, S., Otkun, M.T. & Palaz, E. Comparison of dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol and Sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and chloramphenicol for airborne mold sampling. Aerobiologia 33, 211–219 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-016-9462-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-016-9462-2

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