Stachybotrys

If any filters or straining bags made firm natural materials such as canvas, muslin or paper are used, care must be taken to ensure that they are cleaned and sterilized regularly to prevent the growth of moulds such as Cladosporium spp., Stachybotrys spp., ardAureobasidium (Pullularia)pullulans, which utilize cellulose and would impair them. 

The removal of 2,4-, 2,6-dichloroaniline, and 2,6-dichloro-4-methylaniline at an aged contaminated site was accomplished by the fungi Allescheriella sp., Stachybotrys, and Phlebia, although their ultimate fate was not determined (D Annibale et al. 2006). PCNA was removed only by the second of these. 

Dermally hazardous cytotoxins obtained from various molds and fungi (Stachybotrys atra, Myrothecium sp.). They are colorless, crystalline solids that are heat stable and can be stored for long periods. 

Mahmoudi, M. and Gershwin M.E. Sick building syndrome. III. Stachybotrys chartarum. J. Asthma 37, 191, 2000. 

Viana, M.E., et al., An extract of Stachybotrys chartarum causes allergic asthma-like responses in a BALB/c mouse model, Toxicol. Sci., 70, 98, 2002. 

Trichothecene mycotoxins are produced by a number of fungal molds of the Fusarium, Myrotecium, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys genera. They inhibit protein synthesis, impair DNA synthesis, and interfere with cell membrane structures and functions. The potential routes of exposure are inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption. A terrorist may take advantage of any of these routes. 

Fig. 3 Two dolabellanes (28, 29) from the mould Stachybotrys chartarum (2000). Absolute configuration not verified...

M. A. Jermyn, The action of the P-glucosidase of Stachybotrys atra p-nitrophenyl quinovoside, Aust. 

G. M. Aerts, O. Van Opstal, and C. K. De Bruyne, Mixed inhibition of P-D-glucosidase from Stachybotrys atra by substrate analogues, Carbohydr. Res., 138 (1985) 127-134. 

Cruz-Perez, P., Buttner, M. P., and Stetzenbach, L. D. (2001). Specific detection of Stachybotrys chartarum in pure cultures using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Mol. Cell. Probes 15,129-138. 

Etzel, R. A., Montana, E., Sorensen, W. G., Kullman, G. J., Allan, T. M., and Dearborn, D. G. (1998). Acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants associated with exposure to Stachybotrys atra and other fungi. Arch. Pediutr. Adolesc. Med. 152, 757-762. 

Haugland, R. A., and Heckman, J. L. (1998). Identification of putative sequence specific PCR primers for detection of the toxigenic fungal species Stachybotrys chartarum. Mol. Cell. Probes 12, 387- 96. 

Peltola, S., Niessen, L., Nielsen, K. F., Jarvis, B. B., Andersen, B., Salldnoja-Salonen, M., and Moller, E. M. (2002). Toxigenic diversity of two different RAPD groups of Stachybotrys chartarum isolates analyzed by potetial for trichothecene production and for boar sperm cell motility inhibition. Can. J. Microbiol. 48, 1017-1029. 

Straus, N. A., and Wong, B. (1998). Stachybotrys chartarum trichodiene synthase (TR15) gene, complete cds. GenBank accession no. AF053926, direct submission, 17. March 1998.. ... 

Stachybotryotoxicosis Stachybotrys atra (Various macrocyclic trichothecenes)... 

The stachybotrins A and B (11) and (12), two new aromatic alkaloids with antibacterial and antifungal activity, were isolated from an aquatic isolate of a new species of the genus Stachybotrys... 

Several species of Fusarium infect com, wheat, barley, and rice. Under favorable conditions they elaborate a number of different types of tetracyclic sesquiterpenoid mycotoxins that are composed of the epoxytrichothecene skeleton and an olefinic bond with different side chain substitutions (fig. 9). Based on the presence of a macrocyclic ester or ester-ether bridge between C-4 and C-15, trichothecenes are generally classified as macrocyclic (type C) or nonmacrocyclic (types A and B) (table 5). Other fungal genera producing trichothecenes are Myrothecium, Trichoderma, Trichothecium, Acremonium, Verticimonosporium and Stachybotrys. The term trichothecenes is derived from trichothecin, the first compound isolated in this group [115, 147-153]. 

Another disease, termed stachybotryotoxicosis, caused the death of thousands of horses in the Soviet Union prior to World War II and was attributed to contamination of straw and hay with the fungus Stachybotrys atra. 

Jarvis BB, Salenime J, Morais A Stachybotrys toxins. 1. Nat Toxins 1995 3 10-16. 

Nikulin M, Pasanen AL, Beig S, Hintikka EL Stachybotrys atra growth and toxin production in some building materials and fodder under different relative humidities. Appl Environ Microbiol 1994 60 3421-3424. 

Vesper SJ, Dearborn DG, Yike I, Sorenson WG, Haugland RA Hemolysis, toxicity, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of Stachybotrys chartarum strains. Appl Environ Microbiol... 

Recent studies indicate that some trichothecenes can bind covalently. Satratoxin G, a macrocyclic trichothecene, forms covalent adducts with proteins and potentially other cellular macromolecules (Gregory et al, 2004 Yike et al, 2006). The ability of satratoxin G to bind to albumin provides a potential biomarker of exposure to the toxin as well as to Stachybotrys chartarum. 

Stachybotrys chartarum (previously also called S. atrd), the fungal cause of stachybotryotoxicosis and sick building syndrome, is a black mold. There are two toxic chemo-types of S. chartarum, one elaborating highly toxic macrocyclic trichothecenes and the other less toxic atra-nones and simple, but not macrocychc, trichothecenes (Andersen et al, 2002). Exposure may be by ingestion, e.g. exposure to contaminated straw, or inhalation as when mold grows in water-damaged homes or air ducts. 

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