Title
Separate effects of moisture content and water activity on the hyphal extension of Penicillium rubens on porous media
Author
van Laarhoven, K.A.
Huinink, H.P.
Segers, F.J.J.
Dijksterhuis, J.
Adan, O.C.G.
Publication year
2015
Abstract
To prevent indoor fungal growth, understanding the moisture relations of fungi is a key element. Indoor moisture is quantified by the relative humidity (RH). RH controls the water activity of the indoor materials that fungi grow on, a well-studied parameter known to limit fungal growth. RH, however, also controls the amount of water present in these materials, the moisture content. The significance of the moisture content of these materials to indoor fungal growth is currently overlooked. In the work reported here, growth experiments with the indoor fungus Penicillium rubens on gypsum substrates were performed to test whether the moisture content influences growth on porous materials. Second, we report the development of a video microscopy method that for the first time quantified hyphal growth on a porous material. It is found that a higher moisture content leads to earlier colonization and higher hyphal extension rates. This is a fundamental step in unravelling the effect of RH on indoor fungal growth. The real-time monitoring of colonization of gypsum provides a new view of growth on indoor surfaces.
Subject
Nano Technology
MAS - Materials Solutions
TS - Technical Sciences
Penicillium rubens
Air Pollution
Indoor
Calcium Sulfate
Hyphae
Porosity
Water
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6ffc154b-70a6-4693-af93-5f31b21f37b4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13012
TNO identifier
868884
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
1462-2912
Source
Environmental Microbiology, 17 (12), 5089-5099
Document type
article