Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
A Study of Diversity and Abundance of
Keratinophillic Fungi in Semiarid Grasslands
Paris Hamm
Faculty Mentor: Andrea Porras-Alfaro
Biology
Keratinophilic fungi are fungi that can use keratin as a main carbon source. They are
commonly found in soil and some species are responsible for skin, hair, and nail
infections in humans known as dermatophytosis. The abundance and diversity of these
fungi in semiarid ecosystems is unknown. The goals of this project are to optimize
isolation methods for keratinophilic fungi using baits and to compare the presence and
diversity of these fungi in different types of soil microenvironments. Soil samples were
collected from a semiarid grassland in Utah included different types of biological soil
crust that contain different microbial communities including moss, lichen, and
cyanobacteria. Two rhizosphere samples, Hillaria and Bromus, were also collected.
Keratinophilic fungi were baited with llama hair, snake skin, horse hair, and sheep wool
which are all substrates rich in keratin. Fungi will be isolated in Sabouraud Dextrose
Agar (SDA) and Malt Extract Agar (MEA). A total of four plates were established for
each soil sample for the different baits totaling 20 plates. After approximately two
months, all substrates show abundant mycelial growth and colonization. Using black
light fluorescence to determine colonization, snake skin and sheep wool showed the
most initial colonization. Preliminary microscopic analysis revealed that the different
baits are colonized by a variety of fungi including Fusarium, and Aspergillus strains.
Fusarium and Aspergillus is common saprobes or plant pathogens but are also known
to cause opportunistic human infections. Culture collections will be established and
identified using the ITS rDNA region and compare with direct sequence data obtained
from the soils at the same site.
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