Geosmin, an earthy-musty smelling compound, and 2-phenylethanol were detected by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry combined with gas chromatography from the volatile metabolites of Chaetomium globosum KINZE ex FR., a fungus isolated from the soil at Sugadaira, Nagano Prefecture. It was suggested that fungi are partly responsible for the unpleasant earthy-musty odor and taste in public water supplies.
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Kikuchi et al. (1981) studied this question.