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Persoonia Dec 2018includes a number of plant pathogenic, saprobic and clinically relevant fungi. Some of these species are of great importance in human activities, but the genus has...
includes a number of plant pathogenic, saprobic and clinically relevant fungi. Some of these species are of great importance in human activities, but the genus has never been revised in a phylogenetic framework. In this study, we revise based on available ex-type cultures from worldwide collections, observation of the holotypes and/or protologues, and additional isolates from diverse substrates and geographical origins. Based on nine nuclear loci, i.e., ITS, LSU, , , , , , and , as well as phenotypic data, the genus and species boundaries are assessed for . Three species, i.e., , and , are excluded from the genus and reallocated in and , respectively, whereas and are confirmed as members of . is revealed as conspecific with species previously described in such as , , , , and . Additionally, is revealed as synonym of , and of . A total of 11 phylogenetic species are described, illustrated and discussed, including one novel taxon, The placements of 15 other doubtful species are discussed, and is validated.
PubMed: 30728600
DOI: 10.3767/persoonia.2018.41.05 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2019Central nervous system (CNS) infections caused by brown-black or dematiaceous fungi are distinctly rare and represent a small proportion of infections termed... (Review)
Review
Central nervous system (CNS) infections caused by brown-black or dematiaceous fungi are distinctly rare and represent a small proportion of infections termed phaeohyphomycoses. However, these are becoming more commonly reported. Though many fungi have been implicated in disease, most cases are caused by only a few species, being the most common. Most of the fungi described are molds, and often cause infection in immunocompetent individuals, in contrast to infection with other more common molds such as , which is usually seen in highly immunocompromised patients. Diagnosis is challenging, as there are no specific tests for this group of fungi. In addition, these infections are often refractory to standard drug therapies, requiring an aggressive combined surgical and medical approach to improve outcomes, yet mortality remains high. There are no standardized treatments due to a lack of randomized clinical trials, though guidelines have been published based on available data and expert opinion.
PubMed: 31295828
DOI: 10.3390/jof5030060 -
Revista Chilena de Infectologia :... Feb 2020
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Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022Maize is considered the third most important cereal crop in Asia after rice and wheat. Many diseases affect this crop due to the cultivation of various hybrids. This...
Maize is considered the third most important cereal crop in Asia after rice and wheat. Many diseases affect this crop due to the cultivation of various hybrids. This research aimed to characterize the causative agent of northern corn leaf blight disease in Bihar, India, caused by (Passerini) Leonard and Suggs. Leaf samples were collected from infected fields in five maize growing districts of Bihar in 2020-2022. A total of 45 fungal isolates from 135 samples were examined for cultural, morphological, and molecular characteristics and were identified as . The isolates were grouped into four groups based on colony color, i.e., olivaceous brown, blackish brown, whitish black, and grayish, and into two groups based on regular and irregular margins. The conidial shapes were observed to be elongated and spindle-shaped with protruding hilum, with conidial septa ranging from 2-12. Similarly, conidial length varied from 52.94 μm to 144.12 μm. -tubulin gene sequences analysis made it possible to verify the identities of fungal strains and the phylogenetic relationships of all isolates, which were clustered in the same clade. The -tubulin gene sequences of all the isolates showed a high level of similarity (100%) with reference isolates from GenBank accession numbers KU670342.1, KU670344.1, KU670343.1, KU670341.1, and KU670340.1. The findings of this study will serve as a baseline for future studies and will help to minimize yield losses.
PubMed: 36004928
DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9080403 -
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2022Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) of maize, caused by (Pass.) Leonard and Suggs., is an important foliar disease common across maize-producing areas of the world,...
Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) of maize, caused by (Pass.) Leonard and Suggs., is an important foliar disease common across maize-producing areas of the world, including Bihar, India. In this study, virulence and distribution of races were observed against -resistant genes and also identified the race population distribution in Bihar. For that, 45 isolates were collected from maize fields in Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Katihar and Samastipur districts between 2020 and 2022. These isolates were screened on maize differential lines containing and resistance genes. Five different physiological races were observed based on the symptoms response of the differential maize lines. These races are race 0, race 1, race 3, race 23N and race 123N. race 3 was the most prevalent race having 26.6% frequency followed by race 0 (24.4%) and race 1 (22.2%) and the least prevalent races were race 23N and 123N having 13.3% each. Varied resistance response of different isolates was observed on differential lines having different resistant genes. Despite the fact that virulence was seen against all resistance genes, NCLB control might be increased by combining qualitative resistance genes with quantitative resistance.
PubMed: 36671579
DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10010007 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023Gut mycobiota inhabits human gastrointestinal lumen and plays a role in human health and disease. We investigated the influence of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on...
Gut mycobiota inhabits human gastrointestinal lumen and plays a role in human health and disease. We investigated the influence of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on gastric mucosal and fecal mycobiota in patients with gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD) by using Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 sequencing. A total of 65 participants were included, consisting of the healthy control (HC) group, GERD patients who did not use PPIs (nt-GERD), and GERD patients who used PPIs, which were further divided into short-term (s-PPI) and long-term PPI user (l-PPI) groups based on the duration of PPI use. The alpha diversity and beta diversity of gastric mucosal mycobiota in GERD patients with PPI use were significantly different from HCs, but there were no differences between s-PPI and l-PPI groups. LEfSe analysis identified at the genus level as a biomarker for the s-PPI group when compared to the nt-GERD group. Meanwhile, , , , , and were more abundant in the l-PPI group than in the nt-GERD group. Furthermore, colonization of in gastric mucosa was significantly increased after PPI treatment. However, there was no significant difference in colonization between patients with endoscopic esophageal mucosal breaks and those without. There were significant differences in the fecal mycobiota composition between HCs and GERD patients regardless whether or not they used PPI. As compared to nt-GERD patient samples, there was a high abundance of , , , , and in the s-PPI group. In addition, there was a significantly higher abundance of , , , , and in the l-PPI group than nt-GERD patients. In conclusion, our study indicates that dysbiosis of mycobiota was presented in GERD patients in both gastric mucosal and fecal mycobiota. PPI treatment may increase the colonization of in the gastric mucosa in GERD patients.
Topics: Humans; Proton Pump Inhibitors; Dysbiosis; Candida; Feces; Gastroesophageal Reflux
PubMed: 37662013
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1205348 -
Microbiology Spectrum Apr 2016In mid-September 2012, the largest healthcare-associated outbreak in U.S. history began. Before it was over, 751 patients were reported with fungal meningitis, stroke,... (Review)
Review
In mid-September 2012, the largest healthcare-associated outbreak in U.S. history began. Before it was over, 751 patients were reported with fungal meningitis, stroke, spinal or paraspinal infection, or peripheral osteoarticular infection, and 64 (8.5%) died. Most patients had undergone epidural injection, and a few osteoarticular injection, of methylprednisolone acetate that had been manufactured at the New England Compounding Center (NECC). The offending pathogen in most cases was Exserohilum rostratum, a brown-black soil organism that previously was a rare cause of human infection. Three lots of methylprednisolone were contaminated with mold at NECC; the mold from unopened bottles of methylprednisolone was identical by whole-genome sequencing to the mold that was isolated from ill patients. Early cases manifested as meningitis, some patients suffered posterior circulation strokes, and later cases were more likely to present with localized infection at the injection site, including epidural abscess or phlegmon, vertebral diskitis or osteomyelitis, and arachnoiditis with intradural involvement of nerve roots. Many patients with spinal or paraspinal infection required surgical intervention. Recommendations for treatment evolved over the first few weeks of the outbreak. Initially, combination therapy with liposomal amphotericin B and voriconazole was recommended for all patients; later, combination therapy was recommended only for those who were most ill, and voriconazole monotherapy was recommended for most patients. Among those patients who continued antifungal therapy for at least 6 months, outcomes for most appeared to be successful, although a few patients remain on therapy.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Ascomycota; Disease Outbreaks; Drug Contamination; Humans; Injections, Epidural; Mycoses; Steroids; United States
PubMed: 27227303
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.EI10-0005-2015 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2020(sexual stage ) is the hemibiotrophic causal agent of northern leaf blight of maize and sorghum. This study aimed to identify the genes involved in host colonization...
(sexual stage ) is the hemibiotrophic causal agent of northern leaf blight of maize and sorghum. This study aimed to identify the genes involved in host colonization during the biotrophic and necrotrophic phases of infection. It also aimed to identify race-specific differences in gene expression. RNAseq of maize seedlings inoculated with a race 13N or 23N isolate was conducted before inoculation and at 2, 5, 7, and 13 days post-inoculation (dpi). Biological replicates were pooled per time point for each race and sequenced. A bioinformatics pipeline was used to identify candidate effectors, and expression was validated for selected candidates. Fungal biomass was positively correlated with the percentages of reads mapped, which were low at early time points (2-7 dpi) with a significant increase at 13 dpi, indicating a lifestyle switch from biotrophy to necrotrophy between 7 and 13 dpi. is the putative effector recognized by the maize resistance gene . Consistent with this, was expressed by race 23N, but transcripts were absent in race 13N. In addition, specific transposable elements were expressed in 23N only. Genes encoding the virulence-associated peptidases leupeptin-inhibiting protein 1 and fungalysin were expressed . Transcriptional profiles of genes involved in secondary metabolite synthesis or cell wall degradation revealed the importance of these genes during late stages of infection (13 dpi). A total of 346 expressed candidate effectors were identified, including Ecp6 and proteins similar to the secreted in xylem (SIX) effectors common to of , SIX13 and SIX5. Expression profiling of and indicated a peak in expression at 5 and 7 dpi compared to 2 and 13 dpi. Sequencing of from diverse isolates of revealed host-specific polymorphisms that were mostly non-synonymous, resulting in two groups of SIX13-like proteins that corresponded to the maize or sorghum origin of each isolate. This study suggests putative mechanisms whereby causes disease. Identification of the candidate effector is consistent with the infection mode of through the xylem of susceptible hosts.
PubMed: 32265851
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00360 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2022In recent years, Brown spot disease of rice (BSR) has been observed on leaves and seeds of rice in all rice-growing areas of Burkina Faso. and are the main fungal...
In recent years, Brown spot disease of rice (BSR) has been observed on leaves and seeds of rice in all rice-growing areas of Burkina Faso. and are the main fungal species isolated from BSR infected tissues and they are frequently observed in the same field. However, we are lacking information on the genetic diversity and population structure of these fungi in Burkina Faso. The mode of reproduction is also unknown. The genetic diversity of isolates of (n=61) and (n=151), collected from major rice-growing areas of Burkina Faso, was estimated using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). The mean values for nucleotide diversity (π) were 1.9 x10 for and 4.8 x10 for . There is no genetic differentiation between the geographical populations of each species. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that 89% and 94% of the genetic variances were within the populations of and , respectively. For each species, four genetic clusters were identified by two clustering methods (DAPC and sNMF). The distribution of these genetic groups was independent of the geographical origin of the isolates. Evidence of recombination was detected in the populations of and For balanced mating type ratios were supporting sexual reproduction. For overrepresentation of MAT1-2 isolates (79%) suggested a predominant asexual reproduction. This study provides important information on the biology and genetics of the two major fungi causing brown spot disease of rice in Burkina Faso.
PubMed: 36507371
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1022348 -
Scientific Reports May 2022Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser is an extensively used medicinal shrub in the traditional as well as modern systems of medicines. It is a perennial hemiparasitic plant,...
Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser is an extensively used medicinal shrub in the traditional as well as modern systems of medicines. It is a perennial hemiparasitic plant, which is difficult to propagate artificially because of its low parasitic rate. Successful parasitism of parasitic plants is to fuse their tissues and connect their vasculature to the host vasculature building a physiological bridge, which can efficiently withdraw water, sugars and nutrients from their host plants. It is reported that endophytic fungi play an important role in cell wall degradation and fusion, which is the key forming process of the physiological bridge. Therefore, in this study, the endophytic fungi from T. chinensis of different hosts were isolated, and then the organisms that could degrade the main components of the cell walls were screened out using a medium consisting of guaihuol and cellulose degradation capacity. The results showed that five strains were screened out from 72 endophytic fungi of T. chinensis which with high enzyme activities for lignocellulosic degradation. The laccase and cellulase activities of five strains reached their peaks at day 7, and the highest enzyme activities of these two enzymes were found in strain P6, which was 117.66 and 1.66 U/mL, respectively. Manganese peroxidase of strain 4 and lignin peroxidase of strain N6 also reached their peaks at day 7 and were the highest among the 5 strains, with enzyme activities of 11.61 and 6.64 U/mL, respectively. Strains 4, 15, 31, N6 and P6 were identified as Colletotrichum sp., Nigerrospora sphaerica, Exserohilum sp., Diaporthe phaseolorum and Pestalotiopsis sp., respectively, according to their morphological and molecular biology properties. The endophytic fungi may secrete efficient cell wall degradation enzymes, which promote the dissolution and relaxation of the cell wall between T. chinensis and host, thus contributing to the parasitism of T. chinensis.
Topics: Colletotrichum; Endophytes; Fungi; Laccase; Loranthaceae; Symbiosis
PubMed: 35546173
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11940-z