-
Life (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2023Blood clot formation in blood vessels (thrombosis) is a major cause of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. These clots are formed by αA-, βB-, and ϒ-peptide... (Review)
Review
Blood clot formation in blood vessels (thrombosis) is a major cause of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. These clots are formed by αA-, βB-, and ϒ-peptide chains of fibrinogen joined together by isopeptide bonds with the help of blood coagulation factor XIIIa. These clot structures are altered by various factors such as thrombin, platelets, transglutaminase, DNA, histones, and red blood cells. Various factors are used to dissolve the blood clot, such as anticoagulant agents, antiplatelets drugs, fibrinolytic enzymes, and surgical operations. Fibrinolytic enzymes are produced by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.): streptokinase of nattokinase of YF 38, bafibrinase of sp. AS-S20-I, longolytin of , versiase of ZLH-1, etc. They act as a thrombolytic agent by either enhancing the production of plasminogen activators (tissue or urokinase types), which convert inactive plasminogen to active plasmin, or acting as plasmin-like proteins themselves, forming fibrin degradation products which cause normal blood flow again in blood vessels. Fibrinolytic enzymes may be classified in two groups, as serine proteases and metalloproteases, based on their catalytic properties, consisting of a catalytic triad responsible for their fibrinolytic activity having different physiochemical properties (such as molecular weight, pH, and temperature). The analysis of fibrinolysis helps to detect hyperfibrinolysis (menorrhagia, renal failure, etc.) and hypofibrinolysis (diabetes, obesity, etc.) with the help of various fibrinolytic assays such as a fibrin plate assay, fibrin microplate assay, the viscoelastic method, etc. These fibrinolytic activities serve as a key aspect in the recognition of numerous cardiovascular diseases and can be easily produced on a large scale with a short generation time by microbes and are less expensive.
PubMed: 38004336
DOI: 10.3390/life13112196 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2024The number of buildings experiencing humidity problems and fungal growth appears to be increasing as energy-saving measures and changes in construction practices and... (Review)
Review
The number of buildings experiencing humidity problems and fungal growth appears to be increasing as energy-saving measures and changes in construction practices and climate become more common. Determining the cause of the problem and documenting the type and extent of fungal growth are complex processes involving both building physics and indoor mycology. New detection and identification methods have been introduced, and new fungal species have been added to the list of building-related fungi. However, the lack of standardised procedures and general knowledge hampers the effort to resolve the problems and advocate for an effective renovation plan. This review provides a framework for building inspections on current sampling methods and detection techniques for building-related fungi. The review also contains tables with fungal species that have been identified on commonly used building materials in Europe and North America (e.g., gypsum wallboard, oriented strand board (OSB), concrete and mineral wool). The most reported building-associated fungi across all materials are and . is common on all organic materials, whereas is common on all inorganic materials.
PubMed: 38392780
DOI: 10.3390/jof10020108 -
Marine Drugs Sep 2023A systematic chemical investigation of the deep-sea-derived fungus 170217 resulted in the isolation of six new (-) and 45 known (-) compounds. The structures of the new...
A systematic chemical investigation of the deep-sea-derived fungus 170217 resulted in the isolation of six new (-) and 45 known (-) compounds. The structures of the new compounds were established on the basis of exhaustive analysis of their spectroscopic data and theoretical-statistical approaches including GIAO-NMR, TDDFT-ECD/ORD calculations, DP4+ probability analysis, and biogenetic consideration. Citriquinolinones A () and B () feature a unique isoquinolinone-embedded citrinin scaffold, representing the first exemplars of a citrinin-isoquinolinone hybrid. Dicitrinones K-L (-) are two new dimeric citrinin analogues with a rare CH-CH bridge. Biologically, frangula-emodin () and diorcinol () displayed remarkable anti-food allergic activity with IC values of 7.9 ± 3.0 μM and 13.4 ± 1.2 μM, respectively, while diorcinol () and penicitrinol A () exhibited weak inhibitory activity against , with MIC values ranging from 128 to 256 μM.
Topics: Citrinin; Aspergillus; Fungi; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Molecular Structure
PubMed: 37888439
DOI: 10.3390/md21100504 -
Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung. C,... May 2017During the systematic search of active compounds from endophytic fungi, two new butyrolactones, namely aspernolides L (2) and M (4), together with four known compounds:...
During the systematic search of active compounds from endophytic fungi, two new butyrolactones, namely aspernolides L (2) and M (4), together with four known compounds: 1-O-acetylglycerol (1), butyrolactone I (3), butyrolactone VI (5), and (+) alantrypinone (6) were characterized from the EtOAc extract of the endophytic fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from the roots of Pulicaria crispa (Asteraceae). Extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D, 2D NMR, and HRESIMS, was used to elucidate their structures. Compounds 1, 5, and 6 are reported for the first time from this fungus.
Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Aspergillus; Ethanol; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Molecular Structure; Plant Roots; Pulicaria; Solvents; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
PubMed: 27658145
DOI: 10.1515/znc-2016-0138 -
Allergologie Select 2018Allergic skin and respiratory diseases range among the most frequent afflictions in industrialized countries. Due to this fact the importance of indoor mold pollution... (Review)
Review
Allergic skin and respiratory diseases range among the most frequent afflictions in industrialized countries. Due to this fact the importance of indoor mold pollution based on dampness is discussed. In a sentinel health study of the State Health Agency (LGA) children attending of 4th grade of a primary school were tested by an in-vitro allergy screening (UniCap 100/Phadia) for the mold allergens mx1 (Penicillium chrysogenum m1, Cladosporium herbarum m2, Aspergillus fumigatus m3 and Alternaria alternata m6). Primarily about 5% of the children were sensitized against molds which are associated with the ambient air. The investigations showed that most of the children were sensitized against Alternaria alternata and concerning the IgE-concentration (kU/l) Alternaria alternata had the highest concentration among the tested allergens. Commonly children with sensitization against molds were polysensitized. It is unclear if the allergy screening against mold mx1 includes molds with indication for indoor mold pollution such as Acremonium spp., Aspergillus penicillioides, Aspergillus restrictus, Aspergillus versicolor, Chaetomium spp., Phialophora spp., Stachybotrys chartarum, Tritirachium (Engyodontium) album und Trichoderma spp. by means of crossreaction. Therefore, such investigations do not admit any conclusion about health problems as a result of indoor mold pollution. At the present state of knowledge exposure measurements of indoor mold pollutions are not possible, at most a semiquantitative assessment. Although it is generally accepted that dwellings with moisture and mold represent a health risk, knowledge about indoor mold pollution and the related health problems is lacking.
PubMed: 31826039
DOI: 10.5414/ALX01296E -
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... Sep 2022The present study was carried out to evaluate the antagonistic efficacy of Aspergillus versicolor against the soil and seed inhibiting destructive plant pathogen...
The present study was carried out to evaluate the antagonistic efficacy of Aspergillus versicolor against the soil and seed inhibiting destructive plant pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina. The tested antagonist was confirmed by rDNA sequencing of ITS and β-tubulin genes with respective accession numbers MN719083 and MN736397. In dual culture bioassays, A. versicolor showed potent antagonist activity and reduced the pathogen's growth by 60% over control. To understand the mechanism of antagonistic fungus, DNA of the pathogenic fungus was incubated in secondary metabolites produced by the A. versicolor for 24 and 48 h. After 48 h, metabolites of A. versicolor fully degraded the DNA of M. phaseolina. Moreover, for the identification of bioactive compounds, the chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions of A. versicolor culture filtrates were subjected to GC-MS analysis. A total of 10 compounds were identified in each of the two fractions. Among these, chondrillasterol (37.43%) followed by 1,2-benzedicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester (25.93%), decane (16.63%), 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- (13.32%), stigmasterol (11.16%), undecane (10.93%), cis-1-chloro-9-octadecene (8.66%), benzene, 1,3,5-trimethyl (8.46%), and hexadecanoic acid, 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester (8.13%) were the major compounds. Some of the identified compounds are known to possess strong antifungal, antibacterial, nematicidal, and antioxidant properties. The present study concludes that A. versicolor is an effective antagonist against M. phaseolina.
Topics: Ascomycota; Aspergillus; Esters; Plant Diseases
PubMed: 35831780
DOI: 10.1007/s42770-022-00782-6 -
Studies in Mycology Dec 2022series members occur in a wide range of environments and substrates such as indoor environments, food, clinical materials, soil, caves, marine or hypersaline...
series members occur in a wide range of environments and substrates such as indoor environments, food, clinical materials, soil, caves, marine or hypersaline ecosystems. The taxonomy of the series has undergone numerous re-arrangements including a drastic reduction in the number of species and subsequent recovery to 17 species in the last decade. The identification to species level is however problematic or impossible in some isolates even using DNA sequencing or MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry indicating a problem in the definition of species boundaries. To revise the species limits, we assembled a large dataset of 518 strains. From these, a total of 213 strains were selected for the final analysis according to their calmodulin () genotype, substrate and geography. This set was used for phylogenetic analysis based on five loci (, , , , ). Apart from the classical phylogenetic methods, we used multispecies coalescence (MSC) model-based methods, including one multilocus method (STACEY) and five single-locus methods (GMYC, bGMYC, PTP, bPTP, ABGD). Almost all species delimitation methods suggested a broad species concept with only four species consistently supported. We also demonstrated that the currently applied concept of species is not sustainable as there are incongruences between single-gene phylogenies resulting in different species identifications when using different gene regions. Morphological and physiological data showed overall lack of good, taxonomically informative characters, which could be used for identification of such a large number of existing species. The characters expressed either low variability across species or significant intraspecific variability exceeding interspecific variability. Based on the above-mentioned results, we reduce series to four species, namely , and , and the remaining species are synonymized with either or . The revised descriptions of the four accepted species are provided. They can all be identified by any of the five genes used in this study. Despite the large reduction in species number, identification based on phenotypic characters remains challenging, because the variation in phenotypic characters is high and overlapping among species, especially between and . Similar to the 17 narrowly defined species, the four broadly defined species do not have a specific ecology and are distributed worldwide. We expect that the application of comparable methodology with extensive sampling could lead to a similar reduction in the number of cryptic species in other extensively studied species complexes and other fungal genera. Sklenář F, Glässnerová K, Jurjević Ž, Houbraken J, Samson RA, Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Gené J, Cano J, Chen AJ, Nováková A, Yaguchi T, Kolařík M, Hubka V (2022). Taxonomy of series : species reduction and lessons learned about intraspecific variability. : 53-93. doi: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.02.
PubMed: 36760461
DOI: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.02 -
Genes Sep 2022Three strains of the complex were isolated from a salty marsh at a former uranium mining site in Thuringia, Germany. The strains from a metal-rich environment were not...
Three strains of the complex were isolated from a salty marsh at a former uranium mining site in Thuringia, Germany. The strains from a metal-rich environment were not only highly salt tolerant (up to 20% NaCl), but at the same time could sustain elevated Cs and Sr (both up to 100 mM) concentrations as well as other (heavy) metals present in the environment. During growth experiments when screening for differential cell morphology, the occurrence of guttation droplets was observed, specifically when elevated Sr concentrations of 25 mM were present in the media. To analyze the potential of metal tolerance being promoted by these excretions, proteomics and metabolomics of guttation droplets were performed. Indeed, proteins involved in up-regulated metabolic activities as well as in stress responses were identified. The metabolome verified the presence of amino sugars, glucose homeostasis-regulating substances, abscisic acid and bioactive alkaloids, flavones and quinones.
Topics: Abscisic Acid; Amino Sugars; Aspergillus; Flavones; Glucose; Quinones; Sodium Chloride; Uranium
PubMed: 36140799
DOI: 10.3390/genes13091631 -
Marine Drugs Jan 2023Despite low temperatures, poor nutrient levels and high pressure, microorganisms thrive in deep-sea environments of polar regions. The adaptability to such extreme...
Despite low temperatures, poor nutrient levels and high pressure, microorganisms thrive in deep-sea environments of polar regions. The adaptability to such extreme environments renders deep-sea microorganisms an encouraging source of novel, bioactive secondary metabolites. In this study, we isolated 77 microorganisms collected by a remotely operated vehicle from the seafloor in the Fram Strait, Arctic Ocean (depth of 2454 m). Thirty-two bacteria and six fungal strains that represented the phylogenetic diversity of the isolates were cultured using an One-Strain-Many-Compounds (OSMAC) approach. The crude EtOAc extracts were tested for antimicrobial and anticancer activities. While antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and was common for many isolates, only two bacteria displayed anticancer activity, and two fungi inhibited the pathogenic yeast . Due to bioactivity against and rich chemical diversity based on molecular network-based untargeted metabolomics, PS108-62 was selected for an in-depth chemical investigation. A chemical work-up of the SPE-fractions of its dichloromethane subextract led to the isolation of a new PKS-NRPS hybrid macrolactone, versicolide A (), a new quinazoline (-)-isoversicomide A (), as well as three known compounds, burnettramic acid A (), cyclopenol () and cyclopenin (). Their structures were elucidated by a combination of HRMS, NMR, [α], FT-IR spectroscopy and computational approaches. Due to the low amounts obtained, only compounds and could be tested for bioactivity, with inhibiting the growth of (IC 7.2 µg/mL). These findings highlight, on the one hand, the vast potential of the genus to produce novel chemistry, particularly from underexplored ecological niches such as the Arctic deep sea, and on the other, the importance of untargeted metabolomics for selection of marine extracts for downstream chemical investigations.
Topics: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Phylogeny; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Aspergillus; Fungi; Metabolome; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Plant Extracts
PubMed: 36827136
DOI: 10.3390/md21020095 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2023series are molds distributed among 17 species, commonly found in our environment, and responsible for infections. Since 2022, a new taxonomy has grouped them into 4...
series are molds distributed among 17 species, commonly found in our environment, and responsible for infections. Since 2022, a new taxonomy has grouped them into 4 major lineages: , , , and . Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) could be a faster and more cost-effective alternative to molecular techniques for identifying them by developing a local database. To evaluate this technique, 30 isolates from series were used. A total of 59 main spectra profiles (MSPs) were created in the local database. This protocol enabled accurate identification of 100% of the extracted isolates, of which 97% (29/30) were correctly identified with a log score ≥ 2.00. Some MSPs recorded as in the supplier's database could lead to false identifications as they did not match with the correct lineages. Although the local database is still limited in the number and diversity of species of series , it is sufficiently effective for correct lineage identification according to the latest taxonomic revision, and better than the MALDI-TOF MS supplier's database. This technology could improve the speed and accuracy of routine fungal identification for these species.
PubMed: 37754976
DOI: 10.3390/jof9090868