Stachybotrys


Stachybotrys is a genus of molds, hyphomycetes or asexually reproducing, filamentous fungi, now placed in the family Stachybotryaceae. Historically, it was considered closely related to the genus Memnoniella, because the spores are produced in slimy heads rather than in dry chains. Recently, the synonymy of the two genera is generally accepted. Most Stachybotrys species inhabit materials rich in cellulose. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. The name comes from the Greek words σταχυς stakhus and βότρυς botrus.
The most infamous species, S. chartarum and S. chlorohalonata, are known as "black mold" or toxic black mold in the U.S., and are frequently associated with poor indoor air quality that arises after fungal growth on water-damaged building materials. Stachybotrys chemotypes are toxic, with one producing trichothecene mycotoxins including satratoxins, and another that produces atranones.

Detection

Four distinctive microbial volatile organic compounds – 1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-2-butanol, and thujopsene – were detected on rice cultures, and only one was detected on gypsum board cultures.

Removal

Contact a licensed indoor environmental assessor, and provide a lab analysis and hire a certified mold remediator.

Pathogenicity

Symptoms of ''Stachybotrys'' exposure in humans

A controversy began in the early 1990s after analysis of two infant deaths and multiple cases in children from the poor areas of Cleveland, Ohio, due to pulmonary hemorrhage were initially linked to exposure to heavy amounts of Stachybotrys chartarum. Subsequent and extensive reanalysis of the cases by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have failed to find any link between the deaths and the mold exposure.

Species