Isolation and Identification of Non-Pathogenic and Pathogenic Fungi From the Soil of Greater Tunb, Abu-Musa and Sirri Islands, Persian Gulf, Iran



Nosratabadi M¹ ; Kordbacheh P¹ ; Kachuei R² ; Safara M¹ ; Rezaie S³ ; Afshari MA⁴ ; Jafari H⁵
Source: Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports Published:2017

Abstract

The soil is the main habitat of saprophytic and pathogenic fungi. Heat, rainfall (humidity), soil ingredients are important factors in the growth of fungi. Soil-borne fungi are a major cause for different degrees of allergy or another fungal disease in human and animals. This study was carried out with the aim of isolation and identification of non-pathogenic and pathogenic fungi from the soil of Greater Tunb, Abu-Musa and Sirri islands, Persian Gulf, Iran. In this study, a total of 60 soil samples were collected from the three islands of Greater Tunb, Abu-Musa, and sirri. The soil suspensions were prepared by sterile physiologic saline (0.9% NaCl) and then antibiotics of penicillin and streptomycin were added and 0.2 ml of the suspension was added to Sabouraud’s dextrose agar medium containing chloram-phenicol with and without cycloheximide and incubated at 27°C for 2-3 weeks. The fungal isolates were examined macroscopically and microscopically. A total of 483 fungal isolates including 30 genera were isolated as follows: Aspergillus spp. (22.99%), Mycelia sterilia (16.15%), Penicillium spp. (8.9%), Chrysosporium spp. (6.83%), Cladosporium spp. (5.6%), Fusarium spp. (4.97%), Alternaria spp. (4.76%), Acremonium spp. (3.73%) and other fungi (26.07%). In the current study, a fungus of Sporothrix schenckeii isolated from the soil of Greater Tunb and Abu-Musa. The results of this study contribute towards a better understanding of the incidence pattern of soil-borne fungi, Given that no study has investigated this issue, the findings of the present study can be beneficial for the management of public health surveillance,epidemiologists as well as physicians. © 2017, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.