Biomechanics of conidial dispersal in the toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum - FULL TEXT now available free online

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Fungal Genet Biol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 July 1.

Published in final edited form as:

Fungal Genet Biol. 2007 July; 44(7): 641–647.

Published online 2006 December 24. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2006.12.007.

*Biomechanics of conidial dispersal in the toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum

*

Tucker, L. Stolze, H. Kennedy, and P. Money1

Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, USA

1Corresponding author; e-mail, moneynp@...

The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Fungal

Genet Biol.

*Abstract*

Conidial dispersal in Stachybotrys chartarum in response to low-velocity

airflow was studied using a microflow apparatus. The maximum rate of spore

release occurred during the first 5 min of airflow, followed by a dramatic

reduction in dispersal that left more than 99% of the conidia attached to

their conidiophores. Micromanipulation of undisturbed colonies showed that

micronewton (μN) forces were needed to dislodge spore clusters from their

supporting conidiophores. Calculations show that airspeeds that normally

prevail in the indoor environment disturb colonies with forces that are

1,000-fold lower, in the nanonewton (nN) range. Low-velocity airflow does

not, therefore, cause sufficient disturbance to disperse a large proportion

of the conidia of S. chartarum.

Keywords: allergen, conidiophore, digital video analysis, micromanipulation,

mycotoxin, satratoxin, spore

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