Quantification of siderophore and hemolysin from Stachybotrys chartarum strains, including a strain isolated from the lung of a child with pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis

Abstract

A strain of Stachybotrys chartarum was recently isolated from the lung of a pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis (PH) patient in Texas (designated the Houston strain). This is the first time that S. chartarum has been isolated from the lung of a PH patient. In this study, the Houston strain and 10 strains of S. chartarum isolated from case (n = 5) or control (n = 5) homes in Cleveland were analyzed for hemolytic activity, siderophore production, and relatedness as measured by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis.

FIG. 1

Quantification of the hydroxamate-type siderophore from S. chartarum. Triplicate human blood broth tubes were inoculated with conidia of each strain after 4, 5, or 6 weeks of growth on wet wallboard. Five strains of S. chartarum isolated from PH control houses in Cleveland (no. 1 through 5: 58-07, 58-16, 58-17, 58-18, and 63-01), five from case houses (no. 6 through 10: 51-08, 51-11, 58-02, 58-06, and 63-07) (15), and the Houston strain were used.

FIG. 2

Quantification of hemolytic activity from S. chartarum. Triplicate human blood broth tubes were inoculated with conidia of each strain after 4, 5, or 6 weeks of growth on wet wallboard. Five strains of S. chartarum isolated from PH control houses in Cleveland (no. 1 through 5: 58-07, 58-16, 58-17, 58-18, and 63-01), five from case houses (no. 6 through 10: 51-08, 51-11, 58-02, 58-06, and 63-07) (15), and the Houston strain were used.

FIG. 3

Phylogram of the five case house strains of S. chartarum from Cleveland and the Houston strain. The phylogram presented is the most parsimonious tree inferred from the binary data using the branch-and-bond option in PAUP, version 3.1. The scale bar represents the distance resulting from one character change. The value above the branches is the percentage of 1,000 bootstrap analysis replicates in which the branches were found.

FIG. 4

Phylogram of the five control house strains of S. chartarum from Cleveland and the Houston strain. The phylogram presented is the most parsimonious tree inferred from the binary data using the branch-and-bond option in PAUP, version 3.1. The scale bar represents the distance resulting from one character change. Values above the branches are the percentages of 1,000 bootstrap analysis replicates in which the branches were found.