MOLD: A FRIEND and FOE!

Do you doubt that mold is all around us? Just leave a slice of bread lying around, even in the refrigerator. Before long, it will develop a fuzzy coat-mold!

WHAT IS MOLD?
Mold belongs to the Fungi kingdom, which boasts over 100,000 species, including mildews, mushrooms, plant rusts, and yeasts. Only about 100 funguses are known to cause diseases in humans and animals. Many others play a vital role in the food chain-decomposing dead organic matter and thereby recycling essential elements in a form that plants can use. Still others work in symbiotic relationships with plants, helping them absorb nutrients from the soil. And some are parasites.

Mold begins life as a microscopic spore carried by air currents. If the spore lands on a suitable food sources that has, among other things, the right temperature and moisture level, the spore will germinate, forming threadlike cells called ‘hyphae.’ When hyphae form a colony, the fluffy, tangled mass is called a “mycelium,” which is the visible mold.

Mold is a master at reproduction. In the common bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, the tiny black dots contains spore bodies. Just one dot contains upwards of 50,000 spores, each of which can produce hundreds of millions of new spores in a matter of days.

How do mold “eat’? Unlike animals and humans, who eat first and then absorb their food through digestion, mold often reverse the process. When organic molecules are too long or complex for molds to eat, they exude digestive enzymes that break down the molecules into more simple units, which then absorbs. Also, they do not move around to search for food, they must live in their food.

THE FRIENDLY FACE OF MOLD.
In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming observed by accident the germicidal power of the green mold. Later identified as “Pencillium notatum, the mold proved to be lethal to bacteria but harmless to humans and animals. This finding led to the development of “penicillin,” termed “the single greatest lifesaver of modern medicine.” For their work, Fleming and fellow researchers such as Howard Florey and Ernst Chain were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1945. Since then, mold has furnished a number of other medicinal substances, including drugs for treating blood clot, migraine headaches, and Parkinson’s disease.

Also, mold has been a blessing to the palate. Take cheese for instance, did you know that Brie, Camembert, Danish blue, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Stilton owe their distinct flavors to certain species of mold penicillium? Likewise salami, soy sauce, and beer owe much to mold.

The same is true of wine. When certain grapes are harvested at the correct time and with a suitable measure of fungal growth of each bunch, they can be used to produce exquisite dessert wines. The mold Botrytis cinerea, or “notble rot,” acts on sugars in the grapes, enhancing the flavor. To paraphrase an adage of Hungarian winegrowers: ‘A noble mold spells a good wine.’

WHEN MOLD BECOMES A FOE.
The harmful traits of certain molds also have a long history. Way back in the sixth century B.C.E., the Assyrians use the mold Claviceps purpurea to poison the wells of their enemies-an ancient form of biological warfare. In the Middle Ages, this mold, which sometimes form an rye, painful burning sensation, gangrene, and hallucinations. Now called ergotism, the disease was dubbed St. Anthony’s fire because many victims, hoping for a miraculous cure, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Anthony in France.

The strongest carcinogenic (cancer causing) substance known is aflatoxin-a toxin produced by molds. On one Asian country, 20,000 deaths a year are attributed to aflatoxin. This lethal compound has been used in modern biological weapons.

According to the California Department of Health Services in the United States, mold can cause the following symptoms: ‘Respiratory problems; nasal and sinus congestion; eye irritation (burning, watery, or reddened eyes); dry, placking cough; nose or throat irritation; skin rashes or irritation.’

MOLD AND BUILDING.
In some lands, it is common to hear schools being closed or people having to vacate homes or offices for mold remediation. Early in 2002, the newly opened Museum of Modern Arts in Stockholm, Sweden, had to be closed because of mold. Remediation cost approximately five million dollars! Why has this problem become more common recently?

The answer involves two main factors; building materials and design. In recent decades, construction materials have included products that are more susceptible to mold. An example is drywall, or gypsum board, which is often made of several layers of powder bonded to a hardened plaster core. The core holds moisture. So, if this material remains wet for extended periods, mold spores can germinate and grow, feeding on the paper in the wall.

Structural designs have also changed. Prior to the 1970’s, many buildings in the United States and in a number of other lands were less insulated and airtight than later designs. The changes resulted from a desire to make building more energy efficient in minimizing heat loss and gain and by reducing airflow. So now, when water gets in, it tends to stay longer, encouraging the growth of mold. Is there a solution to this problem?

“Moisture control is the key to mold control,” says one authority. Simple measures may spare you and your family from an encounter with the unfriendly face of mold. In some ways, mold is like fire. It can do harm, but is can also be extremely useful. Much depends on how we use and control it. Of course, we still have much to learn about mold.