Determination of the Sources of Microbial Contaminants of Cultured Plant Tissues

摘要

Microbial contamination is a constant problem, which often compromise development of all in vitro techniques. This study aimed at investigating the sources of microbial contamination in tissue culture laboratories in southwestern Nigeria. Nineteen microbial contaminants (consisting of eleven bacteria and eight fungi) were found associated with the tissue culture plants and the laboratory environments. The bacterial contaminants includes, Pseudomonas flourescens, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp., Micrococcus sp., Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Corynebacterium sp. and Erwinia sp., While Fungi isolates were Alterneria tenius, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cladosporium sp., Saccharomyces sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Rizopus nigricans andFusarium culmorum. The rate of occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were found to be higher (ranging from 36-46%) in human skin than in all other sampled materials. The laboratory walls and tables also harbored most of the contaminating microbes. The laboratory indoor air was found associated with some of the contaminating microbes.