Fabric Deterioration by Thirteen Described and Three New Species of Chaetomium

SUMMARY1. Sixteen species of Chaetomium have been tested to determine their ability to decompose cotton fabric. Enumerated in a descending order according to their deteriorating ability they are: C. globosum, C. caprinum, C. cancroideum, C. dolichotrichum, C. funicolum, C. elatum, C. contortum, C. bostrychodes, C. cochliodes, C. murorum, C. ochraceum, C. aterrimum, C. aureum, C. pachypodioides, C. convolution, C. microcephalum.2. Three new species of Chaetomium have been described, C. dolichotrichum Ames, C. pachypodioides Ames, and C. microcephalum Ames.3. The ability of the sixteen species of Chaetomium to decompose cellulose fabric in the presence of a standard nutrient salt medium in which the source of nitrogen was obtained from four different sources (NaNO3, NH4N03, (NH4)2SO4, and NH4H2P04) were studied. It was found that the sixteen species studied fall into seven groups based upon their ability to utilize the cotton fabric in the presence of different nitrogen sources. The percentage of loss in breaking strength of the fabric following a seven day incubation of each isolate was the criteria used for physiological differentiation between species.