SPECIES OF DEUTEROMYCETES (FUNGI IMPERFECT) PRESENT AT RESIDENTIAL HOUSES IN RAILWAY COLONY LAHORE, PAKISTAN

This study was carried out to asses the density and distribution of kitchen indoor and outdoor mycoflora in 10 different residential multistory blocks in a railway colony in Lahore city. Petri dishes containing Malt Extract Agar (MEA) media were exposed in study site at different floor elevations (12, 24, 36 and 48 ft). Samples were collected during December to February, 2011. A total of 1375 microfungi colonies, 570 from kitchen indoor air and 805 from outdoor air were isolated from different elevations of residential blocks. A total of 68 fungal species belonging to 16 fungal genera were identified. The most frequently isolated fungal genera were Alternaria, Aspergillus ,Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Penicillium in study area. Aspergillus asperesence and Penicillium simplicissimum were the most frequently isolated among the identified species. Variations were observed in the fungal frequency e.g. Alternaria (2.1%) Aspergillus (41.89%) Cladosporium (6.0 %) Fusarium (0.8%) and Penicillium (8.8 %), in study area. While Aspergillus (61%), Penicllium (38%) and Fusarium (28 %) were the dominant genera of indoor air. Aspergillus (59 %), Cladosporium (23.75%) and Penicillium (27%) were isolated most frequently from outdoor air. Aspergillus was isolated from different elevations of the kitchen indoor environment. However, Alternaria was the dominant genus of the outdoor fungal flora in our study. As Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium and Penicillium species isolated from indoor and outdoor environments may be one of the reasons for allergic reactions in sensitive people in winter. Thus the present information can