Isolation and Identification of Keratinophilic Fungi from Different Soil Samples in Jhansi City (India)

Abstract

A total of 54 soil samples were examined from Jhansi city for the isolation and identification of keratinophilic fungi. Different sites were selected which include gardens, schools, poultry farms, rivers, hospitals and garbage dumping sites. A total of 23 species belonging to 11 genera were isolated and identified using hair bating technique. The fungi so isolated belongs to 5 species from genus Trichophyton, 4 species from Chrysosporium, 3 species each from Microsporum and Aspergillus, 2 species from Fusarium and one species from each of the following genera: Rhizopus, Alternaria, Trichoderma, Candida, Penicillium and Paecilomyces. The present study revealed that among the different sites selected the soil from gardens (65%) is rich in keratinophilic fungi followed by schools (52%), poultry farms (43%), garbage dumping sites (34%), hospitals (30%) and rivers (21%).