Mold species in dust from the International Space Station identified and quantified by mold-specific quantitative PCR

Abstract

Dust was collected over a period of several weeks in 2007 from HEPA filters in the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS). The dust was returned on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, mixed, sieved and the DNA was extracted. Using a DNA-based method called mold-specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR), 39 molds were measured in the dust. Potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger and potential moderate toxin producers Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium brevicompactum were noteworthy. No cells of the potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus, Fusarium solani or Candida albicans were detected.