1
|
Andersson (AMA, Salo J, Mikkola R, Marik T, Kredics L, Kurnitski J, Salonen H. Melinacidin-Producing Acrostalagmus luteoalbus, a Major Constituent of Mixed Mycobiota Contaminating Insulation Material in an Outdoor Wall. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10070843. [PMID: 34357993 PMCID: PMC8308789 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10070843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Occupants may complain about indoor air quality in closed spaces where the officially approved standard methods for indoor air quality risk assessment fail to reveal the cause of the problem. This study describes a rare genus not previously detected in Finnish buildings, Acrostalagmus, and its species A. luteoalbus as the major constituents of the mixed microbiota in the wet cork liner from an outdoor wall. Representatives of the genus were also present in the settled dust in offices where occupants suffered from symptoms related to the indoor air. One strain, POB8, was identified as A. luteoalbus by ITS sequencing. The strain produced the immunosuppressive and cytotoxic melinacidins II, III, and IV, as evidenced by mass spectrometry analysis. In addition, the classical toxigenic species indicating water damage, mycoparasitic Trichoderma, Aspergillus section Versicolores, Aspergillus section Circumdati, Aspergillus section Nigri, and Chaetomium spp., were detected in the wet outdoor wall and settled dust from the problematic rooms. The offices exhibited no visible signs of microbial growth, and the airborne load of microbial conidia was too low to explain the reported symptoms. In conclusion, we suggest the possible migration of microbial bioactive metabolites from the wet outdoor wall into indoor spaces as a plausible explanation for the reported complaints.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- (Aino) Maria A. Andersson
- Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; (J.S.); (R.M.); (J.K.); (H.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +358-405508934
| | - Johanna Salo
- Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; (J.S.); (R.M.); (J.K.); (H.S.)
| | - Raimo Mikkola
- Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; (J.S.); (R.M.); (J.K.); (H.S.)
| | - Tamás Marik
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (T.M.); (L.K.)
| | - László Kredics
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (T.M.); (L.K.)
| | - Jarek Kurnitski
- Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; (J.S.); (R.M.); (J.K.); (H.S.)
- Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Heidi Salonen
- Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; (J.S.); (R.M.); (J.K.); (H.S.)
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| |
Collapse
|