Safety Science Research Laboratories, Kao Corporation, Tochigi, Japan.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 May;78(9):3317-24. doi: 10.1128/AEM.07816-11. Epub 2012 Feb 24.
Many people in Japan often detect an unpleasant odor generated from laundry that is hung to dry indoors or when using their already-dried laundry. Such an odor is often described as a "wet-and-dirty-dustcloth-like malodor" or an "acidic or sweaty odor." In this study, we isolated the major microorganisms associated with such a malodor, the major component of which has been identified as 4-methyl-3-hexenoic acid (4M3H). The isolates were identified as Moraxella osloensis by morphological observation and biochemical and phylogenetic tree analyses. M. osloensis has the potential to generate 4M3H in laundry. The bacterium is known to cause opportunistic infections but has never been known to generate a malodor in clothes. We found that M. osloensis exists at a high frequency in various living environments, particularly in laundry in Japan. The bacterium showed a high tolerance to desiccation and UV light irradiation, providing one of the possible reasons why they survive in laundry during and even after drying.
许多日本人在晾晒衣物或使用已晾干的衣物时，经常能闻到一股难闻的气味。这种气味通常被描述为“湿抹布般的臭味”或“酸臭或汗臭”。在这项研究中，我们分离出了与这种异味相关的主要微生物，其主要成分已被鉴定为 4-甲基-3-己烯酸（4M3H）。通过形态观察、生化和系统发育树分析，鉴定出这些分离株为奥斯陆莫拉菌。奥斯陆莫拉菌具有在衣物上产生 4M3H 的潜力。这种细菌通常会引起机会性感染，但从未在衣物上产生异味。我们发现，奥斯陆莫拉菌在各种生活环境中存在的频率很高，尤其是在日本的衣物中。该细菌对干燥和紫外线照射有很强的耐受性，这也是它们在衣物中甚至在干燥后存活的可能原因之一。
