Research Shows First Glimpse of How Moisture and Humidity Affect Mold Growth on Buildings

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By Mary Ceron-Reyes
Research Shows First Glimpse of How Moisture and Humidity Affect Mold Growth on Buildings

Brent Stephens, civil, architectural, and environmental engineering department chair, associate professor of architectural engineering, and director of the architectural and environmental engineering programs at Illinois Institute of Technology, recently published an article with several co-authors in Nature Communications 迟颈迟濒别诲&苍产蝉辫;鈥.鈥&苍产蝉辫;

Stephens partnered with a team of microbial ecologists from the University of 电车无码, Argonne National Laboratory, and San Diego State University, and with chemists at Northwestern University, to investigate the microbial and chemical dynamics of mold growth on common building materials when maintained at high-humidity conditions. Stephens also collaborated with , who was responsible for leading the laboratory tests. 

The team鈥檚 research provides insights into how microbes and metabolites interact over time on wetted building materials and influence mold growth. Stephens reports that wet materials experienced higher growth rates but lower fungal diversity, indicating that specific fungal taxa had preferential growth over others upon wetting. 鈥淒epending on the building material, and whether materials were tested under wet conditions or just high-humidity conditions, we saw a difference in the types of microbes that flourished on the surface,鈥 says Stephens, pointing out that, 鈥渃ertain [microbes] are harmful to health and can release microbial toxins into the air.鈥&苍产蝉辫;

He notes that the location of the materials on the building also influenced growth of microbial communities, suggesting that fungal communities that settle in buildings鈥攚hich have been shown to be driven largely by outdoor fungal communities鈥攎ay influence community structure upon experiencing wetting or high-humidity conditions. 鈥淭hus, we may be able to infer important information about the potential impact on human health and remediation strategies,鈥 adds Stephens.

As stated in the published article, 鈥淎lthough fungal growth on building materials has been studied for decades, only a limited number of studies have used molecular techniques to investigate bacterial and fungal growth, microbial community dynamics, and metabolic activity on common building materials exposed to liquid water and/or high-humidity conditions.鈥&苍产蝉辫;

Stephens says researchers are only now beginning to understand the fundamental chemical, biological, and molecular drivers of how and why mold grows. He shares, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time that this big suite of modern analytical tools has been used to investigate mold growth on building materials. Up to this point, such in-depth literature had not been driven by microbiologists or chemists to examine species of mold and how they might compete with bacteria.鈥

Stephens describes this research as the first stage in understanding how microbes compete on surfaces and why. He says, 鈥淥ur long-range goal is to understand when buildings get wet, could we actually predict which microbes will flourish and thus result in health problems?鈥

This project was funded by the .