Keratinolytic fungi in Egyptian soils.

The frequency of occurrence of keratinolytic fungi in seventy soil samples, collected from different sites in Upper Egypt and in the coastal area of the Mediterranean, was determined by baiting with human and animal hairs and pigeon feathers. Twenty-one species, in addition to an unidentified species, which belong to sixteen genera were collected. Chrysosporium indicum, C. Tropicum, C. keratinophilum, and Microsporum gypseum were the most frequent fungal species recovered from the baited soils. The soil samples collected from the salt marshes of the coastal Mediterranean area were completely free from any keratinolytic fungi, whereas the soil samples collected from cultivated soils contributed species, ranging from one to four species.