Stachybotrys (S.) chartarum is a cellulolytic mould with the ability to produce highly cytotoxic macrocyclic trichothecenes. Two chemotypes are defined according to their ability to produce either atranones or satratoxins. S. chartarum has been well known as the causative agent of the lethal disease stachybotryotoxicosis in horses. Further investigations revealed that this disease is strictly correlated with the presence of macrocyclic trichothecenes. Furthermore, their occurrence in water-damaged buildings has been linked to adverse health effects such as the sick building syndrome. As the chemotypes cannot be characterized via phenotypic criteria, different methods such as PCR, MALDI–TOF MS, LC–MS/MS, thin-layer chromatography and cytotoxicity assays have been used so far. Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is commonly used for the differentiation of bacteria and yeasts, but this technique is also applicable to filamentous fungi. Hence, this study aimed at evaluating to which extent a reliable differentiation of S. chartarum chemotypes A and S is possible. Besides, another objective was to verify if the recently introduced third genotype of S. chartarum can be identified. Therefore, 28 strains including the two chemotypes and the third genotype H were cultivated on malt extract agar (MEA) and potato dextrose agar in three biological replicates. Each sample was applied to FT-IR measurements on day 7, 14 and 21 of cultivation. In this study, we achieved a distinction of the chemotypes A and S via FT-IR spectroscopy after incubation for 7 days on MEA. In terms of genotype differentiation, the PCR detecting satratoxin- and atranone-gene clusters remained the only applicable method.

Stachybotrys ( S. ) chartarum是一种纤维素分解霉菌，能够产生高细胞毒性的大环单端孢霉烯。根据它们产生 atranones 或 satratoxins 的能力定义了两种化学型。海龟众所周知，它是马致命疾病葡萄球菌中毒的病原体。进一步的调查表明，这种疾病与大环单端孢霉烯的存在密切相关。此外，它们出现在受水损坏的建筑物中与不良健康影响有关，例如病态建筑综合症。由于化学型不能通过表型标准来表征，因此迄今为止已经使用了不同的方法，例如 PCR、MALDI-TOF MS、LC-MS/MS、薄层色谱和细胞毒性测定。傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FT-IR) 通常用于细菌和酵母的分化，但该技术也适用于丝状真菌。因此，本研究旨在评估S. chartarum的可靠区分程度化学型 A 和 S 是可能的。此外，另一个目的是验证是否可以识别最近引入的S. chartarum 的第三种基因型。因此，在麦芽提取物琼脂（MEA）和马铃薯葡萄糖琼脂上以三个生物学重复培养了包括两种化学型和第三种基因型 H 的 28 株菌株。每个样品在培养的第 7、14 和 21 天进行 FT-IR 测量。在这项研究中，我们在 MEA 上孵育 7 天后，通过 FT-IR 光谱实现了化学型 A 和 S 的区别。在基因型分化方面，PCR检测satratoxin-和atranone-基因簇仍然是唯一适用的方法。