-
Extremophiles : Life Under Extreme... Mar 2018Soda saline-alkaline lands are significantly harmful to agriculture; thus, effective strategies to remediate such soil are urgently needed. Multiple negative factors... (Review)
Review
Soda saline-alkaline lands are significantly harmful to agriculture; thus, effective strategies to remediate such soil are urgently needed. Multiple negative factors exist in the community structure of saline-alkaline fields, among which the lack of fungal species diversity remains the most prominent problem. The haloalkaliphilic fungi are a unique group of extremophiles that grow optimally under conditions of extreme salinity and alkalinity; these fungi, which buffer salinity and alkalinity by absorbing and/or constraining salt ions, produce organic acids and/or macromolecules, secrete macromolecules such as cellulose degradation enzymes, and provide biomass that is beneficial for soil health. Considering that haloalkaliphilic fungi are a valuable genetic resource of resistance and degradation genes, these fungi are expected to be applied in biotechnology. Aspergillus glaucus exhibits high resistance to a variety of stressors and the ability to degrade crop straw; and it is a practical genetic tool that can be used to identify and validate genes involved in abiotic stress resistance and cellulose decomposition genes. This review will focus on the following aspects: isolation of extreme haloalkaliphilic fungi, fungal genes involved in salt and alkalinity resistance, macromolecule degrading enzymes, applications for genetic improvement of haloalkaliphilic fungi, and application of haloalkaliphilic fungi in saline-alkali soil mycoremediation.
Topics: Alkalies; Aspergillus; Biodegradation, Environmental; Cellulose; Salinity; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 29290045
DOI: 10.1007/s00792-017-0986-3 -
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Dec 2017Indoor mold levels typically increase after natural disasters, flooding, and water damage. Eurotium herbariorum is the sexual stage of Aspergillus glaucus. Case...
BACKGROUND
Indoor mold levels typically increase after natural disasters, flooding, and water damage. Eurotium herbariorum is the sexual stage of Aspergillus glaucus. Case Presentation A 66-year-old, Japanese male, ex-smoker had been diagnosed with bronchial asthma when he was five years old; he achieved remission at the age of 13 years. He was displaced from his home during the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 and moved to temporary housing in Miyagi Prefecture in June 2011. He experienced the first episode of chest tightness, coughing, and wheezing in February 2012, when he again was diagnosed as having bronchial asthma. Mycofloral surveillance detected high counts of Eurotium in the air of his bedroom, kitchen, and living room, with a maximal fungal count of 163,200 colony-forming units per cubic meter (CFU/m3). Although Cladosporium and Penicillium typically predominate in the indoor air of residential dwellings, only low levels of these organisms were present in the patient's home. Morphologic identification confirmed the isolates as E. herbariorum. The patient had positive reactions to E. herbariorum in skin prick testing and the presence of antigen-specific precipitating antibodies to E. herbariorum. Computed tomography of the chest in August 2013 revealed central bronchiectasis and bronchial wall thickening. The patient experienced late reactions after provocation testing with E. herbariorum.
CONCLUSION
This report presents the rare case of a patient who developed allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) due to exposure to E. herbariorum during temporary housing after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Oshikata C , Watanabe M , Saito A , Ishida M , Kobayashi S , Konuma R , Kamata Y , Terajima J , Cho J , Yanai M , Tsurikisawa N . Allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis due to exposure to eurotium herbariorum after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(6):688-690.
Topics: Aged; Asthma; Diagnosis, Differential; Earthquakes; Eurotium; Humans; Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis; Japan; Male; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 28807087
DOI: 10.1017/S1049023X17006914 -
Auris, Nasus, Larynx Jun 2018Inhaled foreign bodies in children are common and may be complicated by secondary airway tract infection. The inhaled foreign body may act as carrier of infectious...
OBJECTIVE
Inhaled foreign bodies in children are common and may be complicated by secondary airway tract infection. The inhaled foreign body may act as carrier of infectious material and the aim of this study was to explore the bacterial species associated with aspirated foreign bodies in a cohort of children.
METHODS
Retrospective case series of 34 patients who underwent rigid laryngobronchoscopy because of foreign body aspiration. Each patient had a sample taken from tracheobronchial secretions during the procedure.
RESULTS
The average patient age was 31.2 months and the average hospital stay was 2.5 days. Of the foreign bodies 24 (71%) were organic in nature and 10 (29%) were non-organic. Twenty eight (82.3%) patients had mixed oropharyngeal flora organisms growth. Fifteen (44%) samples were positive for organisms other than oropharyngeal flora with the most common cultured organisms being: Streptococcus pneumonia (4/12%), Haemophilus influenza (4/12%), Moraxella catarrhalis (4/12%). Four samples (12%) grew a fungus; Candida albicans was cultured in 3 patients and Aspergillus glaucus was identified in one sample. Of the non-oropharyngeal organisms 7(47%) demonstrated antibiotic resistance with four having resistance to amoxycillin, two resistant to penicillin and one resistant to cotrimoxazole.
CONCLUSION
Some children who present with aspirated foreign body may be complicated with secondary airway infection. Antibacterial treatment might be considered in some of these cases. The regimen of antibiotics should aim to cover oropharyngeal flora, S. pneumonia, H. influenza and Moraxella catarrhalis.
Topics: Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Aspergillus; Bronchi; Bronchoscopy; Candida albicans; Child, Preschool; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Female; Foreign Bodies; Haemophilus influenzae; Humans; Laryngoscopy; Male; Microbiota; Moraxella catarrhalis; Oropharynx; Respiratory Aspiration; Respiratory Tract Infections; Retrospective Studies; Streptococcus pneumoniae
PubMed: 28779997
DOI: 10.1016/j.anl.2017.07.014 -
Journal of Basic Microbiology Oct 2017Fungi possess sophisticated regulatory systems to respond to a vast array of environmental signals. Among these responsive networks, some genes play critical roles in...
Fungi possess sophisticated regulatory systems to respond to a vast array of environmental signals. Among these responsive networks, some genes play critical roles in the regulation of various cellular processes. Here, we identified a putative transcriptional factor Agseb1 in Aspergillus glaucus, a marine-derived filamentous fungus. Agseb1 encodes a protein with two C H zinc fingers at the C-terminus, similar to the placement of these motifs in msn2/4 of Saccharomyces cerevisia, where they are positioned to allow binding to the CCCCT-box of stress-specific genes. Agseb1 similarly plays a role in stress response and its deletion mutant exhibited decreased sensitivity to hyperosmotic stress (both sorbitol and salt). Agseb1 is also important for mediating morphological development, because ΔAgseb1 formed compact colonies and abnormal hyphal cells with hyperbranching at new sites. Consistent with the observed defects in conidial yield and sporulation, transcription analysis of the central asexual development pathway revealed significant activity changes. Additionally, the strain lacking Agseb1 exhibited a 43% decrease in aspergiolide A biosynthesis. Overall, Agseb1 has significant activity in different cellular pathways, the findings in this study may be generally applicable to the seb1 orthologs of other filamentous ascomycetes.
Topics: Aspergillus; Fungal Proteins; Fungi; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Hyphae; Mutation; Osmoregulation; Secondary Metabolism; Spores, Fungal; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 28745839
DOI: 10.1002/jobm.201700123 -
3 Biotech Jul 2017Fipronil is a phenylpryazole insecticide which is extensively used for the protection of agricultural yields. However, this insecticide poses various threats to...
Fipronil is a phenylpryazole insecticide which is extensively used for the protection of agricultural yields. However, this insecticide poses various threats to the environment. Therefore it is essential to develop an effective method to degrade or eliminate this pollutant from the environment. In this present study, a fungal strain AJAG1 capable of degrading fipronil and its metabolite, fipronil sulfone, was isolated through enrichment technique. Isolated fungal strain was identified as Aspergillus glaucus based upon its morphological, and 18S rRNA sequence analysis. Strain AJAG1 could degrade 900 mg L of fipronil efficiently in both aqueous medium and soil. In addition, fipronil degradation was tested with various kinetic models and the results revealed that biodegradation in aqueous medium and soil was ascertained by pseudo-first order and zero order rate kinetics, respectively. The infrared spectrum of fipronil degraded sample confirmed the formation of esters, nitro, and alkanes groups. A tentative degradation pathway of fipronil by strain AJAG1 has been proposed on the basis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The lignolytic enzymes activities were studied during fipronil degradation by strain AJAG1. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of strain AJAG1 after fipronil degradation. In the present investigation, bioformulation of strain AJAG1 was developed using low cost materials such as groundnut shell powder, molasses, and fly ash to remediate the fipronil from agricultural field. These results highlight A. glaucus strain AJAG1 may have potential for use in bioremediation of fipronil-contaminated environment.
PubMed: 28667652
DOI: 10.1007/s13205-017-0820-8 -
Fungal Biology May 2016The Antarctic fungal strain Aspergillus glaucus 363 produces cold-active (CA) Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD). The strain contains at least one gene encoding Cu/Zn-SOD...
The Antarctic fungal strain Aspergillus glaucus 363 produces cold-active (CA) Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD). The strain contains at least one gene encoding Cu/Zn-SOD that exhibited high homology with the corresponding gene of other Aspergillus species. To our knowledge, this is the first nucleotide sequence of a CA Cu/Zn-SOD gene in fungi. An effective laboratory technology for A. glaucus SOD production in 3 L bioreactors was developed on the basis of transient cold-shock treatment. The temperature downshift to 10 °C caused 1.4-fold increase of specific SOD activity compared to unstressed culture. Maximum enzyme productivity was 64 × 10(3) U kg(-1) h(-1). Two SOD isoenzymes (Cu/Zn-SODI and Cu/Zn-SODII) were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. The specific activity of the major isoenzyme, Cu/Zn-SODII, after Q-Sepharose chromatography was 4000 U mg(-1). The molecular mass of SODI (38 159 Da) and of SODII (15 835 Da) was determined by electrospray quadropole time-of-flight (ESI-Q-TOF) mass spectrometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The presence of Cu and Zn were confirmed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of Cu/Zn-SODII revealed a high degree of structural homology with Cu/Zn-SOD from other fungi, including Aspergillus species.
Topics: Antarctic Regions; Aspergillus; Cold Temperature; Conserved Sequence; Copper; Mass Spectrometry; Molecular Weight; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Superoxide Dismutase; Zinc
PubMed: 27109365
DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2016.03.002 -
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2016The study aimed to evaluate the antiradical and antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) potentials of ethanol mycelial extracts of selected Ganoderma species and...
The study aimed to evaluate the antiradical and antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) potentials of ethanol mycelial extracts of selected Ganoderma species and strains and to define interand intraspecies diversity among Ganoderma species and strains. Ganoderma lucidum strains were good DPPH• scavengers (neutralizing up to 57.12% radicals), contrary to G. applanatum (20.35%) and G. carnosum (17.04%). High correlations between the activities and contents of total phenols in the extracts showed that these compounds were carriers of the activity. Results obtained by both discdiffusion and microdilution methods indicated that the extract of G. lucidum BEOFB 433 was the most potent antibacterial agent that inhibited growth of almost all bacterial species at a concentration of 1.0 mg/mL. Salmonella typhimurium was the most sensitive species to the mycelium extracts. Extracts of G. lucidum BEOFB 431 and BEOFB 434 showed the best antifungal activity since in concentration of 0.5 mg/mL inhibited the growth of Aspergillus glaucus (BEOFB 431) and the growth of A. glaucus and Trichoderma viride (BEOFB 434). Extracts of G. applanatum and G. lucidum BEOFB 431 had the strongest fungicidal effects, with lethal outcomes for A. glaucus and T. viride, respectively, being noted at a concentration of 1.17 mg/mL. Aspergillus niger was proved as the most resistant species.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antifungal Agents; Antioxidants; Ganoderma; Microbial Viability; Mycelium
PubMed: 26420047
DOI: 10.2174/1389201016666150930115944 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Oct 2015Aquaglyceroporins (GlpFs) that transport glycerol along with water and other uncharged solutes are involved in osmoregulation in myriad species. Fungal species form a...
Aquaglyceroporins (GlpFs) that transport glycerol along with water and other uncharged solutes are involved in osmoregulation in myriad species. Fungal species form a large group of eukaryotic organisms, and their GlpFs may be diverse, exhibiting various activities. However, few filamentous fungal GlpFs have been biologically investigated. Here, a glpF gene from the halophilic fungus Aspergillus glaucus (AgglpF) was verified to be a channel of water or glycerol in Xenopus laevis oocytes and was further functionally analyzed in three heterologous systems. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, cells overexpressing AgglpF possessed significant tolerance of drought, salt, and certain metal ions. AgglpF was then characterized in the filamentous fungus of Neurospora crassa. Based on the N. crassa aquaporin gene (NcAQP) disruption mutant (the Δaqp mutant), a series of complementary strains carrying NcAQP and AgglpF and three asparagine-proline-alanine-gene (NPA)-deleted AgglpF fragments were created. As revealed by salt resistance analysis, the AgglpF complementary strain possessed the highest salt resistance among the tested strains. In addition, the intracellular glycerol content in the AgglpF complementary strain was markedly higher than that in the other strains. The AgGlpF-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was subcellularly localized in the plasma membrane of onion epidermal cells, suggesting that AgglpF functions in plants. Indeed, when AgglpF was expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana, transgenic lines survived under conditions of high osmotic stress and under conditions of drought stress in particular. Overall, our results revealed that AgGlpF as a water/glycerol transporter is required for survival of both fungi and plants under conditions of high osmotic stress and may have value in applications in genetic engineering for generating high salt and drought resistance.
Topics: Animals; Aquaglyceroporins; Arabidopsis; Aspergillus; Droughts; Fungal Proteins; Gene Expression; Glycerol; Oocytes; Osmosis; Plants, Genetically Modified; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Water; Xenopus laevis
PubMed: 26209670
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02127-15 -
[Inhibition of aflatoxin production and fungal growth on stored corn by allyl isothiocyanate vapor].Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi. Journal of... 2015Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) vapor treatment with a commercial mustard seed extract (Wasaouro(®)) in controlling...
Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) vapor treatment with a commercial mustard seed extract (Wasaouro(®)) in controlling aflatoxin-producing fungi on stored corn. The concentration of AIT in the closed container peaked at 54.6 ng/mL on the 14th day and remained at 21.8 ng/mL on the 42nd day. AIT inhibited visible growth of aflatoxigenic molds in unsterilized corn and in sterilized corn inoculated with various aflatoxigenic fungi. However, fungi such as Aspergillus glaucus group, A. penicillioides and A. restrictus were detected by means of culture methods.
Topics: Aflatoxins; Aspergillus; Depression, Chemical; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Food Microbiology; Food Storage; Fungi; Isothiocyanates; Penicillium; Time Factors; Volatilization; Zea mays
PubMed: 25748979
DOI: 10.3358/shokueishi.56.1 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jan 2015High salt in soils is one of the abiotic stresses that significantly reduces crop yield, although saline lands are considered potential resources arable for agriculture....
High salt in soils is one of the abiotic stresses that significantly reduces crop yield, although saline lands are considered potential resources arable for agriculture. Currently, genetic engineering for enhancing salt tolerance is being tested as an efficient and viable strategy for crop improvement. We previously characterized a large subunit of the ribosomal protein RPL44, which is involved in osmotic stress in the extremely halophilic fungus Aspergillus glaucus. Here, we screened another ribosomal protein (AgRPS3aE) that also produced high-salt tolerance in yeast. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that AgRPS3aE encodes a 29.2 kDa small subunit of a ribosomal protein belonging to the RPS3Ae family in eukaryotes. To further confirm its protective function against salinity, we expressed AgRPS3aE in three heterologous systems, the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and two model plants Arabidopsis and tobacco. Overexpression of AgRPS3aE in all tested transformants significantly alleviated stress symptoms compared with controls, suggesting that AgRPS3aE functions not only in fungi but also in plants. Considering that ribosomal proteins are housekeeping components in organisms from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, we propose that AgRPS3aE is one of the optimal genes for improving high-salt tolerance in crops.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Arabidopsis; Aspergillus; Cloning, Molecular; Evolution, Molecular; Fungal Proteins; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Osmotic Pressure; Phylogeny; Plants, Genetically Modified; Ribosomal Proteins; Salt Tolerance; Seedlings; Sequence Alignment; Nicotiana
PubMed: 25642759
DOI: 10.3390/ijms16023058