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Medical Mycology Jul 2023The species of the Candida genus are opportunistic pathogenic fungi found in humans and are responsible for ∼80% of worldwide fungal infections. Aimed at diminishing... (Review)
Review
The species of the Candida genus are opportunistic pathogenic fungi found in humans and are responsible for ∼80% of worldwide fungal infections. Aimed at diminishing and preventing Candida adhesion to cells or implanted devices in the human host, a large diversity of materials has been developed and functionalized that have attracted much interest. Furthermore, these materials have been focused almost exclusively on Candida albicans, followed by C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis. Although an important diversity of materials has been synthesized to prevent adherence and formation of biofilms by Candida species, it is however important to evaluate the capacity of each material in terms of its property to diminish the adherence of Candida. These materials are discussed in this review.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Candida; Candida albicans; Biofilms; Candida glabrata; Antifungal Agents
PubMed: 37410609
DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myad065 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2021Trichothecene mycotoxins are sesquiterpenoid compounds primarily produced by fungi in taxonomical genera such as , , , and others, under specific climatic conditions on... (Review)
Review
Trichothecene mycotoxins are sesquiterpenoid compounds primarily produced by fungi in taxonomical genera such as , , , and others, under specific climatic conditions on a worldwide basis. mold is a major plant pathogen and produces a number of trichothecene mycotoxins including deoxynivalenol (or vomitoxin), nivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, and T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin. Monogastrics are sensitive to vomitoxin, while poultry and ruminants appear to be less sensitive to some trichothecenes through microbial metabolism of trichothecenes in the gastrointestinal tract. Trichothecene mycotoxins occur worldwide however both total concentrations and the particular mix of toxins present vary with environmental conditions. Proper agricultural practices such as avoiding late harvests, removing overwintered stubble from fields, and avoiding a corn/wheat rotation that favors growth in residue can reduce trichothecene contamination of grains. Due to the vague nature of toxic effects attributed to low concentrations of trichothecenes, a solid link between low level exposure and a specific trichothecene is difficult to establish. Multiple factors, such as nutrition, management, and environmental conditions impact animal health and need to be evaluated with the knowledge of the mycotoxin and concentrations known to cause adverse health effects. Future research evaluating the impact of low-level exposure on livestock may clarify the potential impact on immunity. Trichothecenes are rapidly excreted from animals, and residues in edible tissues, milk, or eggs are likely negligible. In chronic exposures to trichothecenes, once the contaminated feed is removed and exposure stopped, animals generally have an excellent prognosis for recovery. This review shows the occurrence of trichothecenes in food and feed in 2011-2020 and their toxic effects and provides a summary of the discussions on the potential public health concerns specifically related to trichothecenes residues in foods associated with the exposure of farm animals to mycotoxin-contaminated feeds and impact to human health. Moreover, the article discusses the methods of their detection.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Food Analysis; Food Contamination; Food Microbiology; Foodborne Diseases; Humans; Mitosporic Fungi; Trichothecenes
PubMed: 33467103
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26020454 -
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Jan 2020Exposure to outside air microorganisms especially fungi has been linked with illness such as allergic respiratory symptoms, rhinitis, asthma, and infection such as...
Exposure to outside air microorganisms especially fungi has been linked with illness such as allergic respiratory symptoms, rhinitis, asthma, and infection such as mycosis. Airborne fungal composition was sampled from five locations in Lagos State, Nigeria, between May 2014 and April 2016. Fungi spores were collected using the sedimentation plate method with the Petri dishes of dichloran-glycerol 18 (DG-18) and potato dextrose agar (PDA) media. Fungi sporulated faster on DG-18 agar plate as compared with PDA. The abundances of fungal spores collected monthly at the locations varied. The most abundant spores came from the fungi were Aspergillus niger (14.47%), Aspergillus sydowii (10.37%), and Aspergillus flavus (7.93%). Additional species were present in the collections including Ascomycetes: Penicillium funiculosum (5.49%), Neurospora crassa (5.32%), Penicillium oxalicum (4.71%), Penicillium pinophilum (2.88%), Fusarium verticillioides (3.05%), Penicillium simplicissimum (1.83%), Aphaderanum sp. (0.22%), Curvularia sp. (0.22%), Aspergillus oryzae (0.22%), and Paecilomyces sp. (0.61%) and the Mucoromycotina Zygomycetes: Rhizopus oryzae (4.10%) and Mucor sp. (3.44%). Fungal concentrations were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) during the rainy season compared with the dry season. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most predominant airborne fungal genera while Mucor, Alternaria, and Cladosporium were some of the least observed. Generally, abundance of fungi was significantly high during the wet season in all the studied locations.
Topics: Air Microbiology; Allergens; Alternaria; Aspergillus; Asthma; Cladosporium; Environmental Monitoring; Fungi; Hypersensitivity; Nigeria; Penicillium; Seasons; Spores, Fungal
PubMed: 31900675
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-8038-3 -
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge... Oct 2022Verticillium dahliae is a notorious soil-borne pathogen that enters hosts through the roots and proliferates in the plant water-conducting elements to cause Verticillium... (Review)
Review
Verticillium dahliae is a notorious soil-borne pathogen that enters hosts through the roots and proliferates in the plant water-conducting elements to cause Verticillium wilt. Historically, Verticillium wilt symptoms have been explained by vascular occlusion, due to the accumulation of mycelia and plant biomacromolecule aggregation, and also by phytotoxicity caused by pathogen-secreted toxins. Beyond the direct cytotoxicity of some members of the secretome, this review systematically discusses the roles of the V. dahliae secretome in vascular occlusion, including the deposition of polysaccharides as an outcome of plant cell wall destruction, the accumulation of fungal mycelia, and modulation of plant defence responses. By modulating plant defences and hormone levels, the secretome manipulates the vascular environment to induce Verticillium wilt. Thus, the secretome of V. dahliae colludes with plant defence responses to modulate Verticillium wilt symptoms, and thereby bridges the historical concepts of both toxin production by the pathogen and vascular occlusion as the cause of wilting symptoms.
Topics: Acremonium; Ascomycota; Plant Diseases; Secretome; Verticillium
PubMed: 35478378
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12863 -
Journal of Agricultural and Food... Feb 2020Neocryptolepine is an alkaloid isolated from traditional African herbal medicine , and its broad spectrum of biological activities has been illuminated in past decades....
Neocryptolepine is an alkaloid isolated from traditional African herbal medicine , and its broad spectrum of biological activities has been illuminated in past decades. In this study, neocryptolepine and its derivatives (-) were designed and synthesized from economical and readily available starting materials. Their structures were confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, carbon nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry. The synthesized compounds were screened for their antifungal profile against six agriculturally important fungi , (), , , , and . The results of in vitro assay revealed that compounds , , , , , , and presented remarkable antifungal activity against the fungi tested with EC values lower than 1 μg/mL. Significantly, compound displayed the most effective inhibitory potency against (EC = 0.07 μg/mL), and the data from in vivo experiments revealed that compound demonstrated comparable protective activity with the positive control boscalid. Preliminary mechanism studies indicated that compound showed impressive spore germination inhibitory effectiveness and lower cytotoxicity than azoxystrobin, imparted on normal function of the cell membrane and cell wall, and arrested the normal function of the nucleus. Besides the excellent inhibitory activity against agriculturally important phytopathogenic fungi tested, the designed assemblage possesses several benefits with a high profile of variation in synthesized molecules, the ease of synthesis, and good cost-effectiveness of commercially available synthetic reagents, all of these have highlighted the potential worth of compound as a new and highly efficient agricultural fungicide.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Botrytis; Fungicides, Industrial; Fusarium; Molecular Structure; Plant Diseases; Rhizoctonia; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 31995378
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b06793 -
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi = Zhongguo... Oct 2019Traditional Chinese medicines( TCMs) are easily contaminated by fungi during planting,harvesting,processing,transportation and storage. The 2015 version of Chinese...
Traditional Chinese medicines( TCMs) are easily contaminated by fungi during planting,harvesting,processing,transportation and storage. The 2015 version of Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates the detection of aflatoxin in Dilong. After reviewing the literature,it has been found that there are no domestic and foreign scholars who have studied the surface fungi of Dilong. Pheretima,known as Dilong in China,is a commonly used TCMs in animal. In this experiment,8 batches of Dilong were collected from retail pharmacies in Beijing. The fungi on the surface of Dilong were cultured by traditional plate method and the single strain was obtained by the top purification method. The fungal colony morphology,microstructure characteristics and DNA barcode were used to isolate and identify the fungi. At the same time,based on Illumina Hi Seq 2500 high-throughput sequencing platform,the diversity of fungi on the surface of Dilong was analyzed. The results showed that 287 strains of 9 species of fungi were isolated and identified by plate method. Combined with 3 kinds of identification method,eight of nine fungi could be identified,respectively,Aspergillus niger,Penicillium,Alternaria nees,A. flavus,and Penicillium oxalicum,Humicola sp.,Talaromyces purpurogenus and A. insuetus,1 kind of fungi was not identified yet. Among them,Penicillium and Aspergillus were the dominant genus. The results of high-throughput sequencing belonged to 2 boundaries,6 gates,19 classes,44 orders,98 families,127 genus and 121 species in different classification levels. Wallemia,Aspergillus and Cordyceps were the dominant genus,and the relative abundances are 63. 33%,15. 28%,and 10. 28%,respectively. Through the diversity study on the surface fungi of Dilong in Beijing retail pharmacies,it can provide a reference for its safe storage and clinical use.
Topics: Aflatoxins; Alternaria; Animals; Aspergillus; China; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Fungi; Penicillium
PubMed: 31872629
DOI: 10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20190729.101 -
PLoS Genetics Jan 2022Aspergillus fumigatus causes a range of human and animal diseases collectively known as aspergillosis. A. fumigatus possesses and expresses a range of genetic... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Aspergillus fumigatus causes a range of human and animal diseases collectively known as aspergillosis. A. fumigatus possesses and expresses a range of genetic determinants of virulence, which facilitate colonisation and disease progression, including the secretion of mycotoxins. Gliotoxin (GT) is the best studied A. fumigatus mycotoxin with a wide range of known toxic effects that impair human immune cell function. GT is also highly toxic to A. fumigatus and this fungus has evolved self-protection mechanisms that include (i) the GT efflux pump GliA, (ii) the GT neutralising enzyme GliT, and (iii) the negative regulation of GT biosynthesis by the bis-thiomethyltransferase GtmA. The transcription factor (TF) RglT is the main regulator of GliT and this GT protection mechanism also occurs in the non-GT producing fungus A. nidulans. However, the A. nidulans genome does not encode GtmA and GliA. This work aimed at analysing the transcriptional response to exogenous GT in A. fumigatus and A. nidulans, two distantly related Aspergillus species, and to identify additional components required for GT protection. RNA-sequencing shows a highly different transcriptional response to exogenous GT with the RglT-dependent regulon also significantly differing between A. fumigatus and A. nidulans. However, we were able to observe homologs whose expression pattern was similar in both species (43 RglT-independent and 11 RglT-dependent). Based on this approach, we identified a novel RglT-dependent methyltranferase, MtrA, involved in GT protection. Taking into consideration the occurrence of RglT-independent modulated genes, we screened an A. fumigatus deletion library of 484 transcription factors (TFs) for sensitivity to GT and identified 15 TFs important for GT self-protection. Of these, the TF KojR, which is essential for kojic acid biosynthesis in Aspergillus oryzae, was also essential for virulence and GT biosynthesis in A. fumigatus, and for GT protection in A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, and A. oryzae. KojR regulates rglT, gliT, gliJ expression and sulfur metabolism in Aspergillus species. Together, this study identified conserved components required for GT protection in Aspergillus species.
Topics: Aspergillus; Aspergillus fumigatus; Aspergillus nidulans; Aspergillus oryzae; Fungal Proteins; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Gliotoxin; Methyltransferases; RNA-Seq; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 35041649
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009965 -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Feb 2021DNA barcoding has proven to be a versatile tool for plant disease diagnostics in the genomics era. As the mass parallel and next generation sequencing techniques gained... (Review)
Review
DNA barcoding has proven to be a versatile tool for plant disease diagnostics in the genomics era. As the mass parallel and next generation sequencing techniques gained importance, the role of specific barcodes came under immense scrutiny. Identification and accurate classification of phytopathogens need a universal approach which has been the main application area of the concept of barcode. The present review entails a detailed description of the present status of barcode application in plant disease diagnostics. A case study on the application of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) as barcode for Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. sheds light on the requirement of other potential candidates as barcodes for accurate identification. The challenges faced while barcoding novel pathogens have also been discussed with a comprehensive outline of integrating more recent technologies like meta-barcoding and genome skimming for detecting plant pathogens.
Topics: Aspergillus; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; DNA, Fungal; Fungi; Fusarium; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Oomycetes; Phylogeny; Plant Diseases; Plants
PubMed: 33604719
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03019-0 -
Microbial Pathogenesis Aug 2022Fungi are a common problem in the photographic collection, so the aim of this study focused on isolating and molecular identification of fungi from old albumen prints...
Fungi are a common problem in the photographic collection, so the aim of this study focused on isolating and molecular identification of fungi from old albumen prints dating to an archive of Dr. Francis and belonging to the Al-Hagar Family and dating back to 1880-1890. The isolated fungi were identified according to their morphological traits and PCR sequencing. The ability of these isolates to cause deterioration was evaluated on model samples (2 × 2 cm) of albumen silver prints. The effect of these fungi on the morphology and structure of the tested samples were examined by SEM, ATR-FTIR, and chromatic alternations. Four fungal species Aspergillus sydowii, A. flavus, Talaromyces atroroseus, and Penicillium chrysogenum were identified. All isolates were able to grow on the surface of the model Albumen silver print and were capable of causing damage to the binder and able to extend their growth to the paper fibers. A. sydowii, A. flavus, and P. chrysogenum caused hydrolysis and oxidation to the albumen prints, while no significant chemical damage to the albumen was detected for the photographic sample infected with T. atroroseus. All the inoculated samples were significantly affected in terms of color change and the high-light areas have become darker. ATR-FTIR spectra showed the degradation of the protein content in Albumen silver prints inoculated with A. sydowii, A. flavus, and P. chrysogenum.
Topics: Albumins; Fungi; Hydrolysis; Penicillium; Penicillium chrysogenum; Silver
PubMed: 35714847
DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105632 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Apr 2021Biorefineries are core facilities for implementing a sustainable circular bioeconomy. These facilities rely on microbial enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic substrates... (Review)
Review
Biorefineries are core facilities for implementing a sustainable circular bioeconomy. These facilities rely on microbial enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic substrates into fermentable sugars. Fungal co-cultures mimic the process of natural biodegradation and have been shown to increase certain enzyme activities. Trichoderma reesei and its many mutant strains are major cellulase producers and are heavily utilized as a source of carbohydrate-active enzymes. Several reports have demonstrated that T. reesei co-cultures present higher enzyme activities compared with its monocultures, especially in the context of β-glucosidase activity. The performance of T. reesei during co-culturing has been assessed with several fungal partners, including Aspergillus niger, one of the most recurrent partners. Various aspects of co-cultivation still need further investigation, especially regarding the molecular interactions between fungi in controlled environments and the optimization of the resulting enzyme cocktails. Since plenty of genetic and physiological data on T. reesei is available, the species is an outstanding candidate for future co-culture investigations. Co-cultures are still a developing field for industrial enzyme production, and many aspects of the technique need further improvement before real applications. KEY POINTS: • T. reesei co-cultures are an alternative for producing lignocellulolytic enzymes. • Several reports suggest an increase in certain enzyme activities in co-cultures. • More in-depth investigations of co-cultures are necessary for advancing this field.
Topics: Aspergillus niger; Cellulase; Coculture Techniques; Hypocreales; Trichoderma
PubMed: 33825000
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11261-7