-
The Science of the Total Environment Mar 2016Intact spores and submicrometer size fragments are released from moldy building materials during growth and sporulation. It is unclear whether all fragments originate...
Intact spores and submicrometer size fragments are released from moldy building materials during growth and sporulation. It is unclear whether all fragments originate from fungal growth or if small pieces of building materials are also aerosolized as a result of microbial decomposition. In addition, particles may be formed through nucleation from secondary metabolites of fungi, such as microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs). In this study, we used the elemental composition of particles to characterize the origin of submicrometer fragments released from materials contaminated by fungi. Particles from three fungal species (Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Penicillium brevicompactum), grown on agar, wood and gypsum board were aerosolized using the Fungal Spore Source Strength Tester (FSSST) at three air velocities (5, 16 and 27 m/s). Released spores (optical size, dp ≥ 0.8 μm) and fragments (dp ≤ 0.8 μm) were counted using direct-reading optical aerosol instruments. Particles were also collected on filters, and their morphology and elemental composition analyzed using scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) coupled with an Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Among the studied factors, air velocity resulted in the most consistent trends in the release of fungal particles. Total concentrations of both fragments and spores increased with an increase in air velocity for all species whereas fragment-spore (F/S) ratios decreased. EDX analysis showed common elements, such as C, O, Mg and Ca, for blank material samples and fungal growth. However, N and P were exclusive to the fungal growth, and therefore were used to differentiate biological fragments from non-biological ones. Our results indicated that majority of fragments contained N and P. Because we observed increased release of fragments with increased air velocities, nucleation of MVOCs was likely not a relevant process in the formation of fungal fragments. Based on elemental composition, most fragments originated from fungi, but also fragments from growth material were detected.
Topics: Air Microbiology; Air Pollution, Indoor; Construction Materials; Environmental Monitoring; Fungi; Spores, Fungal
PubMed: 26789361
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.095 -
Marine Drugs May 2019Six new diketopiperazines, (±)-7,8-epoxy-brevianamide Q ((±)-), (±)-8-hydroxy-brevianamide R ((±)-), and (±)-8-epihydroxy-brevianamide R ((±)-), together with four...
Six new diketopiperazines, (±)-7,8-epoxy-brevianamide Q ((±)-), (±)-8-hydroxy-brevianamide R ((±)-), and (±)-8-epihydroxy-brevianamide R ((±)-), together with four known compounds, (±)-brevianamide R ((±)-), versicolorin B () and averufin (), were isolated from a marine-derived fungus strain MF180151, which was recovered from a sediment sample collected from the Bohai Sea, China. The chemical structures were established by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra and HR-ESI-MS. is the first sample of brevianamides with an epoxy moiety. Their bioactivities were evaluated against s, , , methicillin-resistant , , and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Compounds - showed no activities against the pathogens, and compounds and showed moderate activities against and methicillin-resistant .
Topics: Anti-Infective Agents; Aspergillus; Bacillus subtilis; Candida albicans; China; Diketopiperazines; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Structure; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus
PubMed: 31052556
DOI: 10.3390/md17050262 -
Heliyon Sep 2022Flood damage can increase indoor concentrations of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and molds in households with wallpaper. Wallpaper water content can affect its DEHP...
Flood damage can increase indoor concentrations of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and molds in households with wallpaper. Wallpaper water content can affect its DEHP emission into indoor environments; however, the influence of mold growth on this DEHP emission remains unclear. Here, we evaluated whether mold growth affects DEHP emission from moist wallpaper (moist WP). Experiments were conducted in glass chambers with wallpaper containing 12.7% (w/w) DEHP and a dust tray sample system at approximately 28 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH). The experimental groups were (1) moist WP, (2) moist WP + (AV), (3) moist WP + , (4) moist WP + , and (5) moist WP + mold mixture. Mold growth on the wallpaper and DEHP emission into air and onto dust were analyzed at nine time-points over 30 days. Initially, the moist WP group emitted relatively high concentrations of DEHP into air, but after at least 8 days, the concentration of DEHP emitted by the mold-added groups exceeded that of the moist WP group. DEHP emission onto dust, especially from the moist WP group, increased considerably at day 15. During the experimental period, the moist WP (13.63 ± 4.67 μg) and moist WP + AV (13.93 ± 0.49 μg) groups emitted higher cumulative amounts of DEHP onto dust. During the 30-day experimental period, obvious mold growth occurred over days 15-30. Moreover, the moist WP group exhibited relatively higher and lower cumulative DEHP emission into air than the mold-added groups during days 2-10 (2.71 vs. 1.94-2.94 μg) and 15-30 (1.16 vs. 1.61-2.12), respectively; a contrasting trend was observed for cumulative DEHP emission onto dust. In conclusion, mold growth affects DEHP emission from water-damaged wallpaper, and the removal or cleaning of wet wallpaper, particularly those with visible mold growth, is critical from a public health perspective.
PubMed: 36119884
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10404 -
Marine Drugs Sep 2018Three new tetrahydroxanthone dimers, 5--asperdichrome (), versixanthones N (), and O (), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus HDN1009. Their structures,...
Three new tetrahydroxanthone dimers, 5--asperdichrome (), versixanthones N (), and O (), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus HDN1009. Their structures, including the absolute configurations, were elucidated by NMR, HRMS, and circular dichroism (CD) experiments. Among them, compound was the second example of tetrahydroxanthone dimers, which dimerized by a rare diaryl ether linkage and showed promising antibacterial activities against , , , and , with MIC values ranging from 100 μM to 200 μM; whilst compounds and exhibited extensive cytotoxicities against five cancer cell lines (HL-60, K562, H1975, MGC803, and HO-8910), with IC values ranging from 1.7 μM to 16.1 μM.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Aquatic Organisms; Aspergillus; Bacteria; Cell Line, Tumor; Dimerization; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Structure; Wetlands; Xanthones
PubMed: 30223483
DOI: 10.3390/md16090335 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2016In an area representative of a moderate climate zone (Lubuskie Province in Poland), mycological tests in over 270 flats demonstrated the occurrence of 82 species of...
In an area representative of a moderate climate zone (Lubuskie Province in Poland), mycological tests in over 270 flats demonstrated the occurrence of 82 species of moulds. Aspergillus versicolor Tiraboschi was often encountered on building partitions (frequency 4: frequently). The ability to synthesize the carcinogenic sterigmatocystin (ST) means that it poses a risk to humans and animals. Biotoxicological tests of biomasses of A. versicolor were conducted in the Microbiological and Toxicological Laboratory, using the planarians Dugesia tigrina (Girard). The obtained results of the tests covered a broad range of toxicity levels of isolated strains: from weakly toxic (100-1000 mg·L(-3)) to potently toxic (1-10 mg·L(-3)). The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) physicochemical method confirmed the ability of A. versicolor strains to synthesize sterigmatocystin. All of the samples of the air-dry biomasses of the fungi contained ST in the range between 0.03 and 534.38 mg·kg(-1). In the bio-safety level (BSL) classification A. versicolor belongs to category 1. Additionally, A. versicolor is an allergenic mould.
Topics: Air Pollution, Indoor; Aspergillus; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Colony Count, Microbial; Dust; Environmental Monitoring; Housing; Poland; Sterigmatocystin
PubMed: 27589778
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13090862 -
Postepy Dermatologii I Alergologii Dec 2016To detect and assess the activity of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and to find differences in enzymograms between fungi isolated from wheat and rye samples and grown...
AIM
To detect and assess the activity of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and to find differences in enzymograms between fungi isolated from wheat and rye samples and grown on Czapek-Dox Broth and Sabouraud Dextrose Broth enriched with cereal (wheat or rye). Isolated strains were also classified in the scale of biosafety levels (BSL).
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study used 23 strains of fungi cultured from samples of wheat and rye (grain, grain dust obtained during threshing and soil) collected in the Lublin region (eastern Poland). API ZYM test (bioMérieux) was carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions. Classification of BSL (Biosafety levels) was based on the current literature.
RESULTS
High enzymatic activity was found in strains cultured in media containing 1% of wheat grain () and with an addition of 1% of rye grain (). The total number of enzymes varied depending on the type of media, and in most cases it was higher in the culture where an addition of cereal grains was used.
CONCLUSIONS
Isolated strains of fungi reveal differences in the profiles of the enzyme assay. It can be assumed that the substrate enriched in grains stimulate the higher activity of mold enzymes.
PubMed: 28035224
DOI: 10.5114/ada.2016.63885 -
PloS One 2015Fungi isolated from marine invertebrates are of considerable importance as new promising sources of unique secondary metabolites with significant biomedical potential....
Fungi isolated from marine invertebrates are of considerable importance as new promising sources of unique secondary metabolites with significant biomedical potential. However, the cultivable fungal community harbored in jellyfish was less investigated. In this work, we seek to recover symbiotic fungi from different tissues of jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai. A total of seven morphotypes were isolated, which were assigned into four genera (Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Purpureocillium, and Tilletiopsis) from two phyla (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) by comparing the rDNA-ITS sequences with the reference sequences in GenBank. The most fungi were found in the inner tissues of subumbrella. Two of the cultivation-independent procedures, changing media type and co-cultivation, were employed to maximize the complexity of metabolites. Thus, thirteen EtOAc gum were obtained and fingerprinted by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a photodiode array (PDA) detector. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of these complex mixtures were tested against a panel of bacterial and fungal pathogens. The antimicrobial results showed that all of the 13 EtOAc extracts displayed different levels of antibacterial activity, three of which exhibited strong to significant antibacterial activity to the bacterial pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella entrica. Antifungal activity indicated that the EtOAc extracts from pure culture of Aspergillus versicolor and co-culture of A. versicolor and Tilletiopsis sp. in rice media were promising for searching new compounds, with the maximal mycelial growth inhibition of 82.32% ± 0.61% for Rhizoctonia solani and 48.41% ± 11.02% for Botrytis cinerea at 200 μg/ml, respectively. This study is the first report on the antibacterial and antifungal activity of jellyfish-associated fungi and allows the first sight into cultivable fungal community residing in jellyfish. Induced metabolites by cultivation-dependent approaches provides a new reservoir for drug discovery from jellyfish-derived fungi.
Topics: Animals; Ascomycota; Basidiomycota; Rhizoctonia; Salmonella enterica; Scyphozoa; Staphylococcus aureus
PubMed: 26637162
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144394 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2020Epigenetic agents, histone deacetylase inhibitor (SAHA) and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (5-Aza), were added to Czapek-Dox medium to trigger the chemical diversity of...
Epigenetic agents, histone deacetylase inhibitor (SAHA) and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (5-Aza), were added to Czapek-Dox medium to trigger the chemical diversity of marinederived fungus XS-20090066. By HPLC and H NMR analysis, the diversity of fungal secondary metabolites was significantly increased compared with the control. With the aid of MS/MS-based molecular networking, two new nucleoside derivatives, kipukasins K () and L () were obtained. Meanwhile, the yields of four known nucleoside derivatives were significantly enhanced. In addition, one new bisabolane sesquiterpene, aspergillusene E (), along with ten known derivatives were also isolated. The structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic methods of NMR and HRESIMS analysis. Compounds and displayed antibacterial activities against and with the MIC values of 8-16 μg/mL. Our study revealed that the fungus XS-20090066 has been effectively induced by chemical epigenetic manipulation with a combination of SAHA and 5-Aza to produce new metabolites.
PubMed: 32082294
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00085 -
Marine Drugs May 2022Chromatographic fractionation of the EtOH extracts of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor A18 has led to the isolation of 11 homo/hetero-dimers of aromatic...
Chromatographic fractionation of the EtOH extracts of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor A18 has led to the isolation of 11 homo/hetero-dimers of aromatic bisabolane sesquiterpenoids including eight diphenyl ether-coupled aromatic bisabolanes (1a/1b and 5−10) and three homodimers (2−4), together with their monomers including three aromatic bisabolanes (11−13) and two diphenyl ethers (14 and 15). Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS, 1D/2D NMR, calculated ECD, and the optical rotatory data. Among the four new compounds, (+/−)-asperbisabol A (1a/1b), asperbisabol B (2), and asperbisabol C (3), the enantiomers 1a and 1b represent an unprecedented skeleton of diphenyl ether-coupled aromatic bisabolane sesquiterpenoids with a spiroketal core moiety. The neuroprotective effects of selected compounds against sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced injury were evaluated in PC12 cells by the MTT assay. Five compounds (1a, 6, and 8−10) showed remarkable neuroprotective activities at 10 μM, being more active than the positive control edaravone.
Topics: Aspergillus; China; Molecular Structure; Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes; Sesquiterpenes
PubMed: 35621973
DOI: 10.3390/md20050322 -
Marine Drugs May 2022Fibrinolytic enzymes are important components in the treatment of thrombosis-associated disorders. A new bi-functional fibrinolytic enzyme, versiase, was identified from...
Fibrinolytic enzymes are important components in the treatment of thrombosis-associated disorders. A new bi-functional fibrinolytic enzyme, versiase, was identified from a marine-derived fungus ZLH-1. The enzyme was isolated from the fungal culture through precipitation with ammonium sulfate at 90% saturation. Additionally, it was further purified by DEAE-based ion-exchange chromatography, with a recovery of 20.4%. The fibrinolytic enzyme presented as one band on both SDS-PAGE and fibrin-zymogram, with a molecular mass of 37.3 kDa. It was elucidated as a member of metalloprotease in M35 family by proteomic approaches. The homology-modeling analysis revealed that versiase shares significant structural homology wuth the zinc metalloendopeptidase. The enzyme displayed maximum activity at 40 °C and pH 5.0. The activity of versiase was strongly inhibited by the metalloprotease inhibitors EDTA and BGTA. Furthermore, versiase hydrolyzed fibrin directly and indirectly via the activation of plasminogen, and it was able to hydrolyze the three chains (α, β, γ) of fibrin(ogen). Additionally, versiase demonstrated promising thrombolytic and anticoagulant activities, without many side-effects noticed. In conclusion, versiase appears to be a potent fibrinolytic enzyme deserving further investigation.
Topics: Anticoagulants; Aspergillus; Fibrin; Fibrinolytic Agents; Fungi; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Metalloproteases; Molecular Weight; Proteomics; Temperature
PubMed: 35736159
DOI: 10.3390/md20060356