MYCODIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER DENOMINATION CURRENCY NOTES IN CIRCULATION IN JAMMU CITY, INDIA

A survey of soiled and mint currency notes of lower denomination i.e., rupees five, ten, twenty and fifty was undertaken for the assessment of mycobial diversity associated with them. By using dilution plate technique and modified Sabouraud Dextrose Agar medium (SDA), 37 fungal species belonging to 15 genera were recovered from the sampled currency notes. Mint notes were found to be less contaminated ( 17 fungal species ) as compared to the soiled notes (37 fungal species). Diversity indices computed for the fungal species recovered from the notes of lower denomination showed differences in values of Shannon-Wiener’s diversity index (H'¬) and Simpson Dominance index (Cd). These values varied with the denomination of notes and whether the notes were soiled or mint. Higher values of indices were obtained for soiled note samples in comparison to mint currency notes.