Airborne Fungus Spores of a Library in India

Abstract

The survey of airborne fungus spores in a Manuscript Library in Madras, India was carried out for a four month period from 1 Aug. till 30 Nov. 1982. Nineteen spore types belonging to 19 genera were identified from the Rotorod traces and 43 species representing 23 genera isolated from exposed Petri dishes. Aspergillus spp. spores were found to be predominant in the library atmosphere and this is revealed by both the techniques. This was followed by Cladosporium and Nigrospora on rotorod traces and Penicillium, Drechslera, Alternaria and Nigrospora on exposed Petri dishes in that order. Cellulose degrading fungi such as Chaetomium, Rhizopus and Trichoderma were commonly isolated.