A study on the prevalence of keratinophilic fungal biota of semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Keratinophilic fungi are morphologically and physiologically allied molds that produce the keratinase enzyme which degrades the keratin materials in or on the soil. Fifty soil samples were collected from various habitats of Rajasthan namely Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar and Sikar in India. Out of 154 isolates, a total of 31 keratinophilic fungal species of 16 genera was recovered, including Chrysosporium tropicum (11.04%), Chrysosporium indicum (9.09%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (8.44%), Fusarium solani (7.79%), Trichophyton rubrum (7.14%), Microsporum canis (5.84%), and Aspergillus terreus (4.19%). The frequency of these keratinophilic fungi is also discussed in relation to soil pH. The most of the fungi (47.40%) were isolated from the soil samples with pH 7.00 to 7.99. Chrysosporium indicum (5.84%) reported since 8.00–8.99 pH, while Fusarium solani (5.19%), Microsporum canis (4.55%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (4.55%) between 7.00 and 7.99 pH. This study stipulates that the soils of Rajasthan may be major reservoirs of certain keratinophilic fungi. Keywords: Keratinophilic fungi, Keratinase, Keratin, Chrysosporium, Trichophyton, Fungal biota