[Classical and molecular methods for identification and quantification of domestic moulds]

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Microbiology
• Public health

Background:

• Inhalation of mold spores is constant and unavoidable.
• Accurate sampling, identification, and counting of spores are necessary to study mold's health impact.
• Environmental mold sampling methods include surface, air, and dust sampling, each with limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current methods for environmental mold sampling and identification.
• To highlight the need for improved quantitative methods for assessing mold exposure.
• To discuss the challenges in evaluating the health impact of mold inhalation.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of traditional environmental sampling methods (surface, air, dust).
• Introduction of electrostatic dust collectors as an alternative.
• Discussion of identification techniques: microscopy, Maldi-TOF, DNA sequencing.
• Mention of quantitative real-time PCR and high-throughput sequencing for future standardization.

Main Results:

• Electrostatic dust collectors offer an easy-to-use and cost-effective alternative for identifying and quantifying household mold spores.
• Quantitative real-time PCR is a validated method that should replace traditional colony counting.
• Standardized high-throughput sequencing methods are needed for unbiased mold assessment.

Conclusions:

• Evaluating the health impact of molds is challenging due to their diversity, variable spore quantities, and co-exposure to other allergens.
• There is a clear need for reliable and universally applicable quantitative methods for mold assessment.
• Current methods require improvement for accurate and comparable results in mold-related health studies.