GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF THE OCCURRENCE OF KERATINOLYTIC FUNGI IN RIVER AND MARINE BEACH SEDIMENTS OF CATALONIAN WATERS (SPAIN)

Sediments from 8 river mouths of the Catalonian coast (Spain) were exa mined for keratinolytic fungi. Out of 1250 river and marine samples ex amined, 499 (39.9%) were positive for these fungi. Aphanoascus fulvesc ens (anamorph + teleomorph), Chrysosporium keratinophilum, Ch. tropicu m, Ch. an. of Arthroderma curreyi, Ch. pannicola, Ch. europae and Ch. indicum were the predominant species in the sediments. River samples w ere rich in keratinolytic fungi, whereas in marine beach sediments the y occurred sporadically. The results of a preliminary experiment demon strated that, marine water exerted a dramatical impact on river kerati nolytic fungi causing their total or near-total elimination. The quali tative and quantitative compositions of river keratinolytic mycoflora depended on the degree of water contamination with sewage and on natur al factors (mainly temperature). The keratinolytic mycoflora of two ri vers was possibly altered dramatically by water contaminants, includin g poisons of industrial origin, and marine salinity. The problem of pu blic health risk resulting from the distribution of keratinolytic fung i within the highly-frequented recreational waters is discussed.