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Morphological characterization of in-vitro human hair keratinolysis, produced by identified wild strains of Chrysosporium species

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Abstract

Chrysosporium species were isolated from soil and keratinized material. Primary isolation was performed following the general method of hair baiting on modified Czapek-agar media with washed, defated and sterilized human hair fragments added. Strains were maintained in test tubes of potato dextrose agar at 29 °C and cultivated on phytone yeast extract agar at 28 °C for 14 days for identification. Isolates were characterized using Van Oorschot's key. Keratinolytic activity was expressed following a subjective scale representing degree/severity of attack upon hair surface and presence of fungal structures observed in substrate. Culture results and characterization methods were effective for soil Chrysosporium strain isolation. A new hair attack mode is described. Of 71 keratinolytic fungal isolates, eight (12%) Chrysosporium species were identified. One keratinolytic Chrysosporium sp. isolate is yet to be identified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologáa. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Zulia, P.O. Box 526, Maracaibo, 4011, Venezuela

    Giuseppina Mitola, Franklin Escalona, Rodolfo Salas, Eymar García & Anselmo Ledesma

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  1. Giuseppina Mitola
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  2. Franklin Escalona
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  3. Rodolfo Salas
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  4. Eymar García
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  5. Anselmo Ledesma
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Correspondence to Anselmo Ledesma.

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Mitola, G., Escalona, F., Salas, R. et al. Morphological characterization of in-vitro human hair keratinolysis, produced by identified wild strains of Chrysosporium species. Mycopathologia 156, 163–169 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023340826584

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