-
Clinical Microbiology and Infection :... Apr 2014Mycoses summarized in the hyalohyphomycosis group are heterogeneous, defined by the presence of hyaline (non-dematiaceous) hyphae. The number of organisms implicated in...
Mycoses summarized in the hyalohyphomycosis group are heterogeneous, defined by the presence of hyaline (non-dematiaceous) hyphae. The number of organisms implicated in hyalohyphomycosis is increasing and the most clinically important species belong to the genera Fusarium, Scedosporium, Acremonium, Scopulariopsis, Purpureocillium and Paecilomyces. Severely immunocompromised patients are particularly vulnerable to infection, and clinical manifestations range from colonization to chronic localized lesions to acute invasive and/or disseminated diseases. Diagnosis usually requires isolation and identification of the infecting pathogen. A poor prognosis is associated with fusariosis and early therapy of localized disease is important to prevent progression to a more aggressive or disseminated infection. Therapy should include voriconazole and surgical debridement where possible or posaconazole as salvage treatment. Voriconazole represents the first-line treatment of infections due to members of the genus Scedosporium. For Acremonium spp., Scopulariopsis spp., Purpureocillium spp. and Paecilomyces spp. the optimal antifungal treatment has not been established. Management usually consists of surgery and antifungal treatment, depending on the clinical presentation.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Fusarium; Humans; Hyalohyphomycosis; Scedosporium
PubMed: 24548001
DOI: 10.1111/1469-0691.12465 -
Studies in Mycology Sep 2017Scopulariopsis-like species are often reported from the indoor environment, as well as from clinical samples. The lack of type isolates and thorough phylogenetic studies...
Scopulariopsis-like species are often reported from the indoor environment, as well as from clinical samples. The lack of type isolates and thorough phylogenetic studies in the hampered the correct identification of these isolates. Based on recent phylogenetic studies, which resulted in multiple name changes, the aim is to molecularly identify the and scopulariopsis-like species which occur in the indoor environment and give an overview of the current species in these genera and their habitats. Strains from the CBS culture collection were supplemented with almost 80 indoor strains of which the internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 and intervening 5.8S nrDNA (ITS), beta-tubulin () and translation elongation factor 1-alpha () gene regions were sequenced for phylogenetic inference. The multi-gene phylogenies recognise 33 species and 12 species and showed that the recently established genus , typified by , should be synonymized with the genus . Seven new species, four new species, and one new species, are described, and a new name in and two new name combinations (one in , and one in ) are proposed. In the indoor environment 14 species and three species were found. (22 indoor isolates) and (19 indoor isolates) are the most common indoor species, in number of isolates, followed by (8 indoor isolates) and (7 indoor isolates). A genus phylogeny based on the ITS, and the large subunit 28S nrDNA (LSU) of the type or representative isolates of all here recognised species is provided depicting all species habitats. No correlation between phylogenetic relationship and habitat preference could be observed. Ten species which are found indoor are also found in relation with human-derived samples. A table showing recent name changes and a key to common species of and scopulariopsis-like genera found indoors is included.
PubMed: 28413236
DOI: 10.1016/j.simyco.2017.03.001 -
Persoonia Jun 2016The genera Microascus and Scopulariopsis comprise species commonly isolated from soil, decaying plant material and indoor environments. A few species are also recognised...
The genera Microascus and Scopulariopsis comprise species commonly isolated from soil, decaying plant material and indoor environments. A few species are also recognised as opportunistic pathogens of insects and animals, including humans. In the past, the taxonomy of these fungi has been based on morphology only. With the aim to clarify the taxonomy and phylogeny of these fungi, we studied a large set of clinical and environmental isolates, including the available ex-type strains of numerous species, by means of morphological, physiological and molecular analyses. Species delineation was assessed under the Genealogical Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) criterion using DNA sequence data of four loci (ITS region, and fragments of rDNA LSU, translation elongation factor 1-α and β-tubulin). The genera Microascus and Scopulariopsis were found to be separated in two distinct lineages. The genus Pithoascus is reinstated and the new genus Pseudoscopulariopsis is erected, typified by P. schumacheri. Seven new species of Microascus and one of Scopulariopsis are described, namely M. alveolaris, M. brunneosporus, M. campaniformis, M. expansus, M. intricatus, M. restrictus, M. verrucosus and Scopulariopsis cordiae. Microascus trigonosporus var. macrosporus is accepted as a species distinct from M. trigonosporus. Nine new combinations are introduced. Microascus cinereus, M. longirostris, P. schumacheri and S. flava are neotypified. A table summarising the morphological features of the species treated and identification keys for each genus are provided.
PubMed: 27616786
DOI: 10.3767/003158516X688027 -
Medical Mycology Journal 2020The incidence of non-dermatophyte mould onychomycosis has been increasing worldwide for the past several decades, but it is not well recognized in Japan. Recent...
The incidence of non-dermatophyte mould onychomycosis has been increasing worldwide for the past several decades, but it is not well recognized in Japan. Recent molecular techniques and phylogenetic analyses contributed to the identification of uncommon and emerging species. We came across 13 (0.5%) cases of non-dermatophyte onychomycosis among a total of 2,591 onychomycosis cases in 106,703 outpatients during the past 5 years (January 2015-December 2019). The cases included 5 patients with Aspergillus species, 4 patients with Fusarium species, and one patient each with Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and Botryosphaeria dothidea, respectively. Botryosphaeria dothidea is closely related phylogenetically to Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. In Japan, at the time of writing this report, there are 26 reported cases of ungual aspergillosis and 18 cases of hyalohyphomycosis caused by Fusarium species. We summarize these cases and report the symptoms and mycological features.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aspergillus; Female; Fusarium; Humans; Japan; Male; Middle Aged; Onychomycosis; Scopulariopsis; Young Adult
PubMed: 32475886
DOI: 10.3314/mmj.20-00007 -
Mycopathologia Aug 2016Fungi of Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera cause a wide range of infections, with S. brevicaulis being the most prevalent aetiological agent of mould onychomycosis....
PURPOSE
Fungi of Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera cause a wide range of infections, with S. brevicaulis being the most prevalent aetiological agent of mould onychomycosis. Proper identification of these pathogens requires sporulating culture, which considerably delays the diagnosis. So far, sequencing of rDNA regions of clinical isolates has produced ambiguous results due to the lack of reference sequences in publicly available databases. Thus, there is a clear need for the development of new molecular methods that would provide simple, rapid and highly specific identification of Scopulariopsis and Microascus species. The objective of this study was to develop simple and fast assays based on PCR and real-time PCR for specific detection of fungi from Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera, and separately, S. brevicaulis species.
METHODS
On the basis of alignment of β-tubulin gene sequences, Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific primers were designed and S. brevicaulis-specific primers were reevaluated. DNA from cultured fungal isolates, extracted in a two-step procedure, was used in Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific and S. brevicaulis-specific PCR and real-time PCR followed by electrophoresis or melting temperature analysis, respectively.
RESULTS
The specificity of the assays was confirmed, as positive results were obtained only for Scopulariopsis spp. and Microascus spp. isolates tested in Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific assay, and only for S. brevicaulis and S. koningii (syn. S. brevicaulis) isolates in a S. brevicaulis-specific assay, respectively, and no positive results were obtained neither for other moulds, dermatophytes, yeast-like fungi, nor for human DNA.
CONCLUSIONS
The developed assays enable fast and unambiguous identification of Microascus spp. and Scopulariopsis spp. pathogens.
Topics: Ascomycota; DNA Primers; Dermatomycoses; Electrophoresis; Humans; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sensitivity and Specificity; Time Factors; Transition Temperature; Tubulin
PubMed: 27255522
DOI: 10.1007/s11046-016-0008-5 -
Gut Microbes 2024The fungal microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study,...
The fungal microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we aimed to compare changes of the fecal fungal microbiota between patients with ALD and NAFLD and to elucidate patterns in different disease stages between the two conditions. We analyzed fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequencing using fecal samples from a cohort of 48 patients with ALD, 78 patients with NAFLD, and 34 controls. The fungal microbiota differed significantly between ALD and NAFLD. The genera , , , and the species (), (), () were significantly increased in patients with ALD, whereas the genera and were significantly increased in the NAFLD cohort. We identified the fungal signature consisting of , , , and to have the highest discriminative ability to detect ALD vs NAFLD with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93. When stratifying the ALD and NAFLD cohorts by fibrosis severity, the fungal signature with the highest AUC of 0.92 to distinguish ALD F0-F1 vs NAFLD F0-F1 comprised , , , , and . For more advanced fibrosis stages (F2-F4), the fungal signature composed of , , , and achieved the highest AUC of 0.99 to differentiate ALD from NAFLD. This is the first study to identify a fungal signature to differentiate two metabolic fatty liver diseases from each other, specifically ALD from NAFLD. This might have clinical utility in unclear cases and might hence help shape treatment approaches. However, larger studies are required to validate this fungal signature in other populations of ALD and NAFLD.
Topics: Humans; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Fibrosis; Mycobiome; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis
PubMed: 38298161
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2024.2307586 -
Current Medical Mycology Dec 2021Due to the fact that fungal species, such as and produce carcinogenic and mutagenic aflatoxins and have the potential to produce fungal secondary metabolites, fungal...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Due to the fact that fungal species, such as and produce carcinogenic and mutagenic aflatoxins and have the potential to produce fungal secondary metabolites, fungal contamination should be avoided. This study was conducted using the HPLC method and aimed to examine the fungal contamination of Isfahan hazelnuts in order to identify the presence of Aflatoxins.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In total, 100 samples of hazelnuts were randomly collected from supermarkets in Isfahan. The samples were then cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar media and analyzed to determine fungal contaminations. The aflatoxin analysis was carried out using the HPLC method.
RESULTS
It was discovered that nine genera of fungi, namely , , , , , , , , and were identified in 78% of the samples. Samples contaminated with (22 samples) were studied to determine the presence of aflatoxin. The results showed that 16 (72.72%) of the samples were contaminated with AFB1, AFB2, and AFG2 and the mean concentrations were 0.926, 0.563, and 0.155 ng/g, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Some parameters that affect mycotoxin production are temperature, food substrate, the strain of the mold, and other environmental factors. Due to the toxigenic quality of some of these fungi and their hazard to human health, it is crucial that fungal contamination and aflatoxin identification tests are carried out before certain products are made available to the mass market.
PubMed: 35747731
DOI: 10.18502/cmm.7.4.8404 -
Microorganisms Jun 2023Cucumber wilt is a worldwide soil-borne disease that seriously restricts the yield and quality of cucumber. The rhizosphere soil microbiome, as the first line of...
Cucumber wilt is a worldwide soil-borne disease that seriously restricts the yield and quality of cucumber. The rhizosphere soil microbiome, as the first line of defense against pathogens invading plant roots, plays a key role in rhizosphere immune formation and function. The purpose of this study was to reveal the key microecological factors and dominant microbial flora affecting cucumber resistance and susceptibility to wilt by analyzing the physical and chemical properties and microbial flora of rhizosphere soil with different degrees of susceptibility and resistance to cucumber wilt, thereby laying a foundation to establish cucumber resistance to the wilt rhizosphere core microbiome. Firstly, Illumina Miseq sequencing technology was used to evaluate the physical and chemical properties and microbial groups of cucumber rhizosphere soil at different health levels, and the key environmental factors and microbial factors related to cucumber wilt were screened out. Subsequently, PICRUSt2 and FUNGuild were used to predict the functions of rhizosphere bacteria and fungi. Combined with functional analysis, the possible interactions among soil physical and chemical properties, cucumber rhizosphere microorganisms, and wilt were summarized. The results showed that the available potassium content in the rhizosphere soil of healthy cucumber decreased by 10.37% and 0.56%, respectively, compared with the rhizosphere soil of severely susceptible cucumber and mildly susceptible cucumber. Exchangeable calcium content increased by 25.55% and 5.39%; the α diversity Chao1 index of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere soil of healthy cucumber was significantly lower than that in the rhizosphere soil of seriously infected cucumber, and the MBC content of its physical and chemical properties was also significantly lower than that in the rhizosphere soil of seriously infected cucumber. There was no significant difference in the Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes between healthy cucumber rhizosphere soil and seriously infected cucumber rhizosphere soil. The results of the β diversity analysis showed that the bacterial and fungal community structure of healthy cucumber rhizosphere soil was significantly different from that of severely and mildly infected cucumber rhizosphere soil. At the genus level, through statistical analysis, LEfSe analysis, and RDA analysis, the key bacterial and fungal genera with potential biomarker values were screened out as , , , , , , , , , and , respectively. The bacteria , and related to cucumber wilt inhibition belong to Chloroflexi, Acidobacteriota, and Proteobacteria, respectively. belongs to Sordariomycates. The results of functional prediction showed that changes to the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway in the bacterial microbiota were concentrated in tetracycline biosynthesis, selenocompound metabolism, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, etc., which were mainly involved in the metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, energy metabolism, metabolism of other amino acids, glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, lipid metabolism, cell growth and death, transcription, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. The difference in fungi was mainly dung saprotroph-ectomycorrhizal-soil saprotroph-wood saprotroph. Through the correlation analysis and functional predictions of the key environmental factors, microbial flora, and cucumber health index in cucumber rhizosphere soil, we determined that the inhibition of cucumber wilt was a synergistic effect of environmental factors and microbial flora, and a model diagram was drawn to briefly explain its mechanism. This work will provide a basis for the biological control of cucumber wilt in the future.
PubMed: 37375078
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11061576 -
Biotechnologia 2023(Fabaceae) have been traditionally used in the treatment of microbial ailments, and the specific agent mediating its efficacy has been investigated in several studies....
(Fabaceae) have been traditionally used in the treatment of microbial ailments, and the specific agent mediating its efficacy has been investigated in several studies. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of purified lectin (ESL) was analyzed. The phylogenetic relationship of the gene encoding lectin with other legume lectins was also established to investigate their evolutionary relationship via comparative genomics. Antimicrobial activity of ESL against selected pathogenic bacteria and fungi isolates was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method, using fluconazole (1 mg/ml) and streptomycin (1 mg/ml) as positive controls for fungi and bacteria sensitivity, respectively. Potent antimicrobial activity of ESL against , , , , , , and was observed, with inhibition zones ranging from 18 to 24 mm. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of ESL ranged between 50 and 400 μg/ml. Primer-directed polymerase chain reaction of genomic DNA detected a 465-bp lectin gene with an open reading frame encoding a 134-amino acid polypeptide. The obtained nucleotide sequence of the ESL gene shared high sequence homology: 100, 100, and 98.18% with , , and lectin genes, respectively, suggesting that the divergence of lectins might follow species evolution. This study concluded that ESL could be used to develop lectin-based antimicrobials, which could find applications in the agricultural and health sectors.
PubMed: 37064277
DOI: 10.5114/bta.2023.125083 -
Journal Der Deutschen Dermatologischen... Sep 2012Opportunistic filamentous mycoses are widely distributed all over the world. They are rarely observed in Europe but are common in developing countries. The most common...
Opportunistic filamentous mycoses are widely distributed all over the world. They are rarely observed in Europe but are common in developing countries. The most common are the aspergilloses (due to Aspergillus spp.) mostly in neutropenia and immunosuppression; the mucormycoses characterized by rapid progression in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis; the phaeohyphomycoses due to pigmented fungi causing either a mild superficial or a very serious deep disease and the hyalohyphomycoses due to hyaline filamentous fungi (Fusarium spp., Pseudallescheria spp., Scopulariopsis spp.). Cutaneous manifestations are usually secondary to dissemination from pulmonary or visceral disease; primary cases are less frequent and due to direct inoculation into the skin. We review epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic data on the four most important opportunistic filamentous mycoses: aspergillosis, mucormycosis, phaeohyphomycosis and hyalohyphomycosis.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Dermatomycoses; Humans; Mitosporic Fungi; Opportunistic Infections
PubMed: 22925358
DOI: 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2012.07994.x