International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ___________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202Vol. 3(10), 28-31, October (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 28 Occurrence of Keratinophilic Fungi from Soils of Ujjain (Holy City), IndiaRathore Geetanjali* and Jain Sudhir Kumar School of Studies in Microbiology, Vikram University, Ujjain 456010, MP, INDIAAvailable online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 3rd May 2014, revised 18th September 2014, accepted 2nd October 2014Abstract Soil is well-known as a route to fungal infection in human. Recently, human exposure to potentially pathogenic fungi is threatening the health of people. Keratinophilic fungi in the soil are diverse group that depend on different factors, such as vertebrates and human activity. These fungi plays vital task in decomposing keratinous debris of man and animals in nature. In order to study the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi present in soil of Ujjain (holy city), 128 soil samples were collected. These samples were screened using hair baiting techniques for isolation. Out of total 128 samples, 112 (87.50%) were positive for growth of keratinophilic fungi. Present results show the occurrence of keratinophilic fungi in soils of different sites in Ujjain and may have a significant role in keratin degradation in the environment. Keywords: Keratinophilic fungi, degradation, hair bait technique. IntroductionThe decomposition of keratin by keratinophilic fungi plays an important role in the natural environment. The fibrous protein keratin is found in hairs, nails, horns, skin, feathers, etc. in vertebrates and humans, which consist of polypeptide chains joined by hydrogen bonds, salt-cross bridges and disulphide bridges. Hair-bait technique of Vanbreuseghem2 was used for isolation ofkeratinophilic fungi and proved that soil is natural reservoir of these fungi. Keratinophilic fungi have the distinctive capability to degrade keratinous substances. The fungi which decompose these substances entirely are known as keratinolytic. These fungi also cause dermatophytosis in humans and animals. The keratininophilic fungi create the enzyme keratinase, which is essential in recent times in industrial application. Present study revealed the occurrence of keratinophilic fungi from soils of Ujjain (holy city), India. Material and Methods Sample collection: In this study, 128 soil samples were collected from different places of Ujjain (M.P.) India. The soil samples were collected from the surface whose deepness did not exceed 4–6cm by using spatula. In doing so, 500 grams of soil was collected in sterile polyethylene bags. Each bag was tightly packed and labelled indicating the place and date of collection. These samples were brought to laboratory for further processing. Various baits (hairs, wool, nails, horn and feathers) were also collected from various sources and stored in plastic bags. Isolation of keratinophilic fungi: For isolation, the following techniques were used: Hair-baiting technique: The Vanbreuseghem2 methodwas used for the isolation of keratinophilic fungi. For this, keratinous substances from each sample were aseptically scattered on the top of each soil sample in sterile Petri dish and provide moistened condition (in duplicates) and incubated at 28ºC ±2°C for one month and examined daily for fungal growth. The moulds which appear on the bait fragments (figure-2) were transferred to the surface of Sabouraud's dextrose agar (Himedia) with chloramphenicol (50mg/l) and cycloheximide (actidione 500 mg/l). The Petriplates were incubated at 28ºC for 7-10 days. These fungi (figure-3) were identified based on the standard monographs3-8. Results and Discussion 128 soil samples were screened for the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi. Out of which 112 soil samples (87.50%) were positive for fungal growth. The result of prevalence of keratinophilic fungi is shown in table-1 and figure-1. In the present investigation the fungal strains Microsporum sp., Chrysosporium sp., Trichophyton sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp. etc.were frequently isolated. Keratinophilic fungi and dermatophyteswere also previously reported from Indian soils9-12. It is remarkable that the highest number of keratinophilic fungi was observed from soils of Ramghat, Siddhawat, Vikram vatika, Triveni ghat, Kalbhairav, Harsiddhi in Ujjain. The high prevalence of keratinophilic fungi from these soils explain that, hair of human/ animals and feather from birds which come to the soil either as dead or dropped off, serves as substrates and are subjected to microbial decomposition. The present study International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ Vol. 3(10), 28-31, October (2014) International Science Congress Association clearly indicates the diverse exi stence of keratinophilic fungi in soils of Ujjain. Keratinophilic fungi are important ecologically and play major role in bioremediation in natural environment13-14 . Diverse soil habitats have been screened from Occurrence (%) of keratinophilic fungi from soil Sample sites Collected samples Mahankal Iskcon temple Dewas gate Siddhawat Mangalnath Gadhkalika Ramghat Triveni ghat Sandipni Chintaman Shanimandir Kalidas academy Kalbhairav Harsiddhi Kothi Vikram Vatika Railway station Dusshera maidan Nanakheda Vikram University Total The occurrence of keratinophilic fungi International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ International Science Congress Association stence of keratinophilic fungi in soils of Ujjain. Keratinophilic fungi are important ecologically and play major role in bioremediation in natural . Diverse soil habitats have been screened from different countries e.g- Brazil, Kuwait, that these groups of fungi are distributed worldwide Table-1 Occurrence (%) of keratinophilic fungi from soil Collected samples Positive samples 08 07 05 04 04 03 11 11 09 07 04 02 11 11 08 08 07 06 09 08 04 03 04 03 05 05 04 04 04 04 10 09 06 05 04 03 04 03 07 06 128 112 Figure-1 The occurrence of keratinophilic fungi International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. 29 Brazil, Kuwait, Iran, and India indicating that these groups of fungi are distributed worldwide 15-17. Occurrence (%) 87.5% 80% 75% 100% 77.7% 50% 100% 100% 85.7% 88.8% 75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 90% 83.3% 75% 75% 85.7% 87.50% International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 3(10), 28-31, October (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 30 (a) On human hairs (b) On birds feathers (c) On human nails Figure-2 Growth of Keratinophilic fungi on baits - Microsporum sp. - Trichophyton sp. c- Chrysosporium sp. Figure-3 Growth of keratinophilic fungi on SDA plates ConclusionIt is clear from present investigation that soils of Ujjain are ideal environment for the keratinophilic fungi. This could be attributed to the high organic debris and keratinous substrates present in these soils. However the isolation of fungi was not uniform as it depends on organic matter. Organic matter content of soils is one of the major factors affecting the presence of keratinophilic fungi in soils. Thus these fungi which are human/ animal pathogens could be considered as bioindicators of environmental pollution with keratinous substrate and can pose risk of human and animal mycoses. References 1.Khanam S.J.P. and Jain P.C., Isolation of keratin degrading fungi from soil of Damoh, India, Asian J. 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