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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 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Sep 2015Currently, contamination of indoor environment by fungi and molds is considered as a public health problem. The monitoring of indoor airborne fungal contamination is a...
Currently, contamination of indoor environment by fungi and molds is considered as a public health problem. The monitoring of indoor airborne fungal contamination is a common tool to help understanding the link between fungi in houses and respiratory problems. Classical analytical monitoring methods, based on cultivation and microscopic identification, depend on the growth of the fungi. Consequently, they are biased by difficulties to grow some species on certain culture media and under certain conditions or by noncultivable or dead fungi that can consequently not be identified. However, they could have an impact on human health as they might be allergenic. Since molecular methods do not require a culture step, they seem an excellent alternative for the monitoring of indoor fungal contaminations. As a case study, we developed a SYBR® green real-time PCR-based assay for the specific detection and identification of Aspergillus versicolor, which is frequently observed in indoor environment and known to be allergenic. The developed primers amplify a short region of the internal transcribed spacer 1 from the 18S ribosomal DNA complex. Subsequently, the performance of this quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method was assessed using specific criteria, including an evaluation of the selectivity, PCR efficiency, dynamic range, and repeatability. The limit of detection was determined to be 1 or 2 copies of genomic DNA of A. versicolor. In order to demonstrate that this SYBR® green qPCR assay is a valuable alternative for monitoring indoor fungal contamination with A. versicolor, environmental samples collected in contaminated houses were analyzed and the results were compared to the ones obtained with the traditional methods.
Topics: Air Microbiology; Air Pollution, Indoor; Aspergillus; Benzothiazoles; DNA, Fungal; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; Diamines; Humans; Organic Chemicals; Quinolines; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Staining and Labeling
PubMed: 26184975
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6785-9 -
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 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2023Biological methods are currently the most commonly used methods for removing hazardous substances from land. This research work focuses on the remediation of...
Biological methods are currently the most commonly used methods for removing hazardous substances from land. This research work focuses on the remediation of oil-contaminated land. The biodegradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons and PAHs as a result of inoculation with biopreparations B1 and B2 was investigated. Biopreparation B1 was developed on the basis of autochthonous bacteria, consisting of strains sp. IN118, sp. IN101, IN53, IN119, IN113 and sp. IN109, whereas biopreparation B2 was enriched with fungi, such as , , sp., , . As a result of biodegradation tests conducted under ex situ conditions for soil inoculated with biopreparation B1, the concentrations of TPH and PAH were reduced by 31.85% and 27.41%, respectively. Soil inoculation with biopreparation B2 turned out to be more effective, as a result of which the concentration of TPH was reduced by 41.67% and PAH by 34.73%. Another issue was the phytoremediation of the pre-treated G6-3B2 soil with the use of . The tests were carried out in three systems (system 1-soil G6-3B2 + ; system 2-soil G6-3B2 + biopreparation B2 + ; system 3-soil G6-3B2 + biopreparation B2 with γ-PGA + ) for 6 months. The highest degree of TPH and PAH reduction was obtained in system 3, amounting to 65.35% and 60.80%, respectively. The lowest phytoremediation efficiency was recorded in the non-inoculated system 1, where the concentration of TPH was reduced by 22.80% and PAH by 18.48%. Toxicological tests carried out using Phytotoxkit, Ostracodtoxkit and Microtox Solid Phase tests confirmed the effectiveness of remediation procedures and showed a correlation between the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil and its toxicity. The results obtained during the research indicate the great potential of bioremediation practices with the use of microbial biopreparations and in the treatment of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.
Topics: Zea mays; Biodegradation, Environmental; Hazardous Substances; Actinomycetales; Enterobacteriaceae
PubMed: 37630356
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28166104 -
Environmental Toxicology Jan 2013Very little is known about the mechanisms that occur in human cells upon exposure to fungi as well as their mycotoxins. A better understanding of toxin-regulated gene...
Very little is known about the mechanisms that occur in human cells upon exposure to fungi as well as their mycotoxins. A better understanding of toxin-regulated gene expression would be helpful to identify safe levels of exposure and could eventually be the basis for establishing guidelines for remediation scenarios following a water intrusion event. In this research, cytokine mRNA expression patterns were investigated in the human monocytic THP-1 cell line exposed to fungal extracts of various fragment sizes obtained from Stachybotrys chartarum RTI 5802 and/or Aspergillus versicolor RTI 3843, two common and well-studied mycotoxin producing fungi. Cytokine mRNA expression was generally upregulated 2-10 times following a 24 h exposure to fungal extracts. Expression of the proinflammatory interleukin-1β, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α genes increased while the anti-inflammatory gene interleukin-10 also increased albeit at very low level, suggesting that negative feedback regulation mechanism of production of proinflammatory cytokines initiated upon 24 h of incubation. In addition, submicron size extracts of A. versicolor caused significant death of THP-1 cells, whereas extracts of S. chartarum caused no cell death while the mixture of the two fungi had an intermediate effect. There was no general correlation between gene expression and fragment sizes, which suggests that all submicron fragments may contribute to inflammatory response.
Topics: Aspergillus; Cell Line; Cytokines; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-10; Interleukin-1beta; Interleukin-8; Monocytes; Mycotoxins; Stachybotrys; Trichothecenes; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 21384497
DOI: 10.1002/tox.20698 -
Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical... Mar 2014Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a societal burden and cause of morbidity in Canada; however, the prevalence of allergic sensitization in Canadian CRS patients has...
BACKGROUND
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a societal burden and cause of morbidity in Canada; however, the prevalence of allergic sensitization in Canadian CRS patients has remained poorly characterized.
OBJECTIVE
In this study, we used skin prick test (SPT) and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and G (sIgG) titers to regionally relevant allergen sources in order to determine whether allergic sensitization is more prevalent in CRS patients compared to chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) control patients.
METHODS
One hundred and fifty eight subjects (19-70 years of age) were recruited into the study. 101 subjects had a confirmed diagnostic history of CRS and 57 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of CIU were recruited as controls. Enrolled subjects underwent SPT to a panel of perennial and seasonal allergens and sIgE titers were quantified to selected environmental allergen mixes (grass, mold, and tree species) using Phadia ImmunoCAP. sIgG was additionally quantified to Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium herbarum, and Stachybotrys atra. Differences between CRS and control CIU patient SPT and serological data were examined by chi-squared analysis and analysis of variance.
RESULTS
Reactivity to at least one SPT extract occurred in 73% of CRS patients. Positive SPT reactivity to A. alternata (odds ratio (OR): 4.34, 95% confidence interval: 1.57, 12.02), cat (OR: 3.23, 95% CI: 1.16, 9.02), and ragweed (OR: 2.31, 95% CI: 1.02, 5.19) extracts were more prevalent in patients with CRS (p < 0.05). Although dust mite and timothy grass sensitization approached statistical significance in the chi-squared analysis of SPT data, other common perennial and seasonal allergens were not associated with CRS. No statistically significant differences were observed between mean sIgE and sIgG titers in CRS and control patients.
CONCLUSIONS
This study supports previous data that suggests A. alternata sensitization is associated with CRS; however, these findings additionally highlight the contribution of other regionally important allergens including cat and ragweed.
PubMed: 24666655
DOI: 10.1186/1710-1492-10-15 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Jun 2011Fungal growth in damp or water-damaged buildings worldwide is an increasing problem, which has adverse effects on both the occupants and the buildings. Air sampling...
Fungal growth in damp or water-damaged buildings worldwide is an increasing problem, which has adverse effects on both the occupants and the buildings. Air sampling alone in moldy buildings does not reveal the full diversity of fungal species growing on building materials. One aim of this study was to estimate the qualitative and quantitative diversity of fungi growing on damp or water-damaged building materials. Another was to determine if associations exist between the most commonly found fungal species and different types of materials. More than 5,300 surface samples were taken by means of V8 contact plates from materials with visible fungal growth. Fungal identifications and information on building material components were analyzed using multivariate statistic methods to determine associations between fungi and material components. The results confirmed that Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus versicolor are the most common fungal species in water-damaged buildings. The results also showed Chaetomium spp., Acremonium spp., and Ulocladium spp. to be very common on damp building materials. Analyses show that associated mycobiotas exist on different building materials. Associations were found between (i) Acremonium spp., Penicillium chrysogenum, Stachybotrys spp., Ulocladium spp., and gypsum and wallpaper, (ii) Arthrinium phaeospermum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cladosporium herbarum, Trichoderma spp., yeasts, and different types of wood and plywood, and (iii) Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus melleus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ochraceus, Chaetomium spp., Mucor racemosus, Mucor spinosus, and concrete and other floor-related materials. These results can be used to develop new and resistant building materials and relevant allergen extracts and to help focus research on relevant mycotoxins, microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs), and microparticles released into the indoor environment.
Topics: Biodiversity; Colony Count, Microbial; Environmental Microbiology; Fungi; Housing
PubMed: 21531835
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02513-10