10th International Aerosol Conference
September 2 - September 7, 2018
America's Center Convention Complex
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Abstract View

Identification of Toxic Mold Genes in Aerosolized Stachybotrys

Rhapsody Dearring, Qi Yao, Parisa Moghaddam-Taaheri, Amy Karlsson, AKUA ASA-AWUKU, University of Maryland, College Park

Abstract Number: 875
Working Group: Infectious Bioaerosol

Abstract
Indoor mold is a persistent problem that affects human health. Stachybotrys is the most common species of mold and is known to have toxic strains such as S. Chartarum. Not all airborne mold is toxic and thus the ability to identify toxic strains efficiently remains an issue. The specific focus of this project is to identify specific airborne strains of mold using aerosol science counting techniques and gene sequencing technology. Here we conduct experiments to determine efficient method of rapid quantification by varying concentrations of S. Chartrum. Furthermore, we also modify the time for deposition of the mold. The aerosolized concentrations are then deposited for subsequent analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The novel method to analyze the airborne fungal strain is presented in detail. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate the DNA strands by size and the presence of the toxic mold gene, Tri5 is identified.