The present study revealed the occurrence of 222 fungi belonging to 17 genera in the soil of public parks. Among dermatophytes isolated, Microsporum gypseum was recovered most frequently. This fungus was also reported as the first or second most common dermatophyte in soils in other studies. Similar results were found by Deshmukh, who examined soils of Kelara state (India) and recovered Microsporum gypseum with the highest frequency (5). He also isolated this fungus as the second highest frequency in examination of the vicinity of salt pan soils of Mumbai, India (7). Another study in India by Vidyasagar showed that Microsporum gypseum was predominant, followed by Chrysosporium keratinophilum (8). Periasamy Anbu et al. also reported this dermatophyte as one of the predominant fungi isolated from poultry farm and feather dumping soil in Tamil nadu, India (9). Deshmukh et al. again reported similar result of investigation from soils of Jammu, India (1). However Zaki et al. did not isolated Microsporum gypseum from muddy soil in Cairo vicinities, Egypt. They reported Chrysosporium zonatum as the most prevalent species that represented 42.5% of the total number of isolates (10). In Iran, Shadzi et al. isolated Chrysosporium as the most frequent keratinophilic fungus from elementary schools and public parks in Isfahan, Iran (4).
Hedayati et al. demonstrated the presence of Microsporum gypseum as dermatophyte and Penicillium spp followed by Acremonium spp as non-dermatophyte fungi in soil samples of potted plants from Sari hospitals, Iran (11). A total of 1568 patients with suspected Tinea capitis were examined for causative fungal agents between 1994 and 2001 in Tehran and the rate of Microsporum gypseum was found 1% (12), however in another study in Karaj this rate was 3.2% (13). The results obtained in our study provide data that are consistent with previously conducted surveys in the same geographical area.
The number of species isolated from different parks varied, which may indicate a selective effect of the characters of certain biotopes on the distribution of keratinophilic fungi in soil, such as the presence of direct sunlight, soil pH, geologic constitution, locality, season and other environmental factors. For example, M. gypseum has been found universally in humus-rich soil and in surroundings with intense animal populations, while T. ajelloi is more frequently found in places with humus-rich soils whereas the chrysosporium spp have been found universally in soil enriched with animal hair and bird feathers. Although it is possible to observe a certain distinction between the kind of keratinic baits used and the keratinophilic fungi isolated, but results suggest that the kind of keratinic baits is not the main factor responsible for the isolation of different keratinophilic species (14).
From the results presented in this study, an association may exist between keratinophilic fungi and the soil of parks in municipality districts of Tehran. The keratinophilic fungi occurring more commonly in the soil were Acremonium, Chrysosporium, Fusarium, Cunninghamella and M. gypseum. Regardless of dermatophytoses, there are some other pathogens that have been isolated from soil such as the causative agents of nocardiosis (Nocardia spp.), tinea nigra (Phaeoannellomyces werneckii), white piedra (Trichosporon beigelii), sporotrichosis (Sporothrix schenckii), entomophthoromycosis (Conidiobolus coronatus), pseudallescheriasis (Pseudallescheria boydii), mycetoma and chromoblastomycosis. Also, the agents of systemic mycosis were isolated from soil: histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum), coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis), paracoccidioidomycosis (Paracoccidioides brasiliensis). Therefore, it is important to keep the soil well-drained to avoid fungal infection.
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