It is important to note that black mold or Stachybotrys chartarum is a micro fungus from the Fungi kingdom and Ascomycota division. The post intends to expand upon the selected microorganisms and apply the principles discussed in recent research. One of the key facts about the black mold is the fact that it is rare in the wild. In other words, the micro fungus poorly competes with other mold organisms, which is why it is found in the human-created environment at the equivalent rate.
Since its discovery, black mold has been suspected to be a causal factor for public health concerns in regard to its pathogenicity. However, the recently updated evidence shows that mycotoxins released by the organism are highly toxic (Dylag et al., 2022). Despite the decades of research, the experts were not able to identify whether or not the black mold is capable of invasive growth. The tests did not reveal that Stachybotrys chartarum can grow at a temperature ≥ 37 ◦C, which indicates that it might not be responsible for tissue penetration by hyphae (Dylag et al., 2022). Therefore, there are significant gaps in knowledge when it comes to determining the course of action in the pathogenicity of Stachybotrys chartarum.
Black mold requires a cellulose-rich environment to grow with significant fluctuations in temperature, which is its adaptive feature to be able to survive where other forms of mold cannot. Such unusual conditions can rarely be found in nature, but a human-created environment can enable it. Therefore, the limited amount of data and research on black mold poses a significant health risk to public health as a source of indoor air pollution because the methodology of detection is rather weak.
Reference
Dylag, M., Spychala, K., Zielinski, J., Lagowski, D., & Gnat, S. (2022). Update on Stachybotrys chartarum—Black mold perceived as toxigenic and potentially pathogenic to humans. Biology, 11(3), 1-19. Web.