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Sample records for clinical aspergillus isolates

  1. Profiling of volatile organic compounds produced by clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gerritsen, M G; Brinkman, P; Escobar Salazar, Natalia; Bos, L D; de Heer, K; Meijer, M; Janssen, H-G; de Cock, H; Wösten, H A B; Visser, C.E.; van Oers, M H J; Sterk, P J

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath may identify the presence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We aimed to detect VOC profiles emitted by in vitro cultured, clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Three clinical Aspergillus isolates and a

  2. Profiling of volatile organic compounds produced by clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gerritsen, M. G.; Brinkman, P.; Escobar, N.; Bos, L. D.; de Heer, K.; Meijer, M.; Janssen, H.-G.; de Cock, H.; Wösten, H. A. B.; Visser, C. E.; van Oers, M. H. J.; Sterk, P. J.

    2018-01-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath may identify the presence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. We aimed to detect VOC profiles emitted by in vitro cultured, clinical Aspergillus isolates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Three clinical Aspergillus isolates and a

  3. Detection of Polish clinical Aspergillus fumigatus isolates resistant to triazoles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nawrot, Urszula; Kurzyk, Ewelina; Arendrup, Maiken Cavling

    2018-01-01

    We studied the presence of triazole resistance of 121 Aspergillus fumigatus clinical isolates collected in two Polish cities, Warsaw and Wrocław, to determine if resistance is emerging in our country. We identified five itraconazole resistant isolates (4.13%) carrying the TR34/L98H alteration...

  4. Aspergillus pragensis sp nov discovered during molecular reidentification of clinical isolates belonging to Aspergillus section Candidi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lyskova, Pavlina; Hubka, Vit; Kolarik, Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    The identity of nine clinical isolates recovered from Czech patients and presumptively identified as Aspergillus sp. section Candidi based on colony morphology was revised using sequences of beta-tubulin, calmodulin gene sequence, and internal transcribed spacer rDNA. Six isolates were from suspe...

  5. Molecular identification and amphotericin B susceptibility testing of clinical isolates of Aspergillus from 11 hospitals in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Min Seok; Shin, Jong Hee; Choi, Min Ji; Park, Yeon Joon; Lee, Hye Soo; Koo, Sun Hoe; Lee, Won Gil; Kim, Soo Hyun; Shin, Myung Geun; Suh, Soon Pal; Ryang, Dong Wook

    2015-11-01

    We investigated the species distribution and amphotericin B (AMB) susceptibility of Korean clinical Aspergillus isolates by using two Etests and the CLSI broth microdilution method. A total of 136 Aspergillus isolates obtained from 11 university hospitals were identified by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and β-tubulin genomic regions. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of AMB were determined in Etests using Mueller-Hinton agar (Etest-MH) and RPMI agar (Etest-RPG), and categorical agreement with the CLSI method was assessed by using epidemiological cutoff values. ITS sequencing identified the following six Aspergillus species complexes: Aspergillus fumigatus (42.6% of the isolates), A. niger (23.5%), A. flavus (17.6%), A. terreus (11.0%), A. versicolor (4.4%), and A. ustus (0.7%). Cryptic species identifiable by β-tubulin sequencing accounted for 25.7% (35/136) of the isolates. Of all 136 isolates, 36 (26.5%) had AMB MICs of ≥2 μg/mL by the CLSI method. The categorical agreement of Etest-RPG with the CLSI method was 98% for the A. fumigatus, A. niger, and A. versicolor complexes, 87% for the A. terreus complex, and 37.5% for the A. flavus complex. That of Etest-MH was ≤75% for the A. niger, A. flavus, A. terreus, and A. versicolor complexes but was higher for the A. fumigatus complex (98.3%). Aspergillus species other than A. fumigatus constitute about 60% of clinical Aspergillus isolates, and reduced AMB susceptibility is common among clinical isolates of Aspergillus in Korea. Molecular identification and AMB susceptibility testing by Etest-RPG may be useful for characterizing Aspergillus isolates of clinical relevance.

  6. [Isolation of Aspergillus tritici from internal environment (Chile): Ecological and clinical scope].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieille Oyarzo, Peggy; Cruz Choappa, Rodrigo; Piontelli Laforet, Eduardo

    2018-03-29

    Indoor environments provide important protective habitats for humans, who live or work in them most of the time. Many of these environments lack ventilation, which affects the composition of microbial communities, especially that of the fungal community. The aim of this study is to report the isolation of Aspergillus section Candidi from indoor environments of the School of Medicine at Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile, and identification through morpho-physiological and molecular approaches. Their ecological and clinical features were highlighted. An environmental non-volumetric sampling was performed on PDA medium; 2 petri dishes were exposed in 10 different places to select the Aspergillus samples. Subcultures were performed on agar Czapek with yeast extract (CYA), malt extract agar (MEA) and creatin sacarose agar (CREA) media only for the morpho-physiological and later the molecular identification of white spore species. Of the 20 samples analyzed, one Aspergillus belonging to Candidi section was isolated. Based on its morphology and molecular features, it was classified as Aspergillustritici Mehrotra & Basu. Its ecology and medical relevance are reviewed and discussed. Copyright © 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  7. In vitro synergy of natamycin and voriconazole against clinical isolates of Fusarium, Candida, Aspergillus and Curvularia spp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sradhanjali, Swatishree; Yein, Bandana; Sharma, Savitri; Das, Sujata

    2018-01-01

    To determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of voriconazole and natamycin, alone and in combination, against the clinical isolates of Fungus and to evaluate the synergy between the drugs in an experimental in vitro study. In an experimental in vitro study, clinical isolates of Fusarium , Aspergillus , Candida and Curvularia spp were maintained on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and used for the study. The MICs of natamycin and voriconazole, used alone and in combination, were evaluated by checkerboard microdilution technique based on the standard protocol proposed by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. The interactions were assessed using the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) Index model. Tested with all the clinical isolates, the MICs ranged between 0.125 and 8 µg/mL both for natamycin and voriconazole. In descending order, maximum synergism (FIC ≤0.5) was observed in Candida spp (33.3%) followed by Curvularia spp and Fusarium spp (23.1%). Synergism was least for Aspergillus spp (22.2%). However, at 61.5% (8/13), maximum additive effect (>0.5-1) was observed in Aspergillus spp and minimum (33.3%, 2/6) in Candida spp. Indifference (FIC value >1 and≤4) was observed in 22.2% (2/9) of Aspergillus spp, 15.4% (2/13) of Fusarium spp, 33.3% (2/6) of Candida spp and 23.1% (3/13) of Curvularia spp. No cases of antagonism (FIC >4) were observed. Natamycin and voriconazole in combination demonstrated more effective antifungal activity than single-use in vitro treatment in all species tested, which implies that these combinations may be helpful in treating fungal keratitis. There was no antagonism between these two drugs. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  8. Aspergillus saccharolyticus sp. nov., a new black Aspergillus species isolated in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Annette; Lübeck, Peter S.; Lübeck, Mette

    2011-01-01

    A novel species, Aspergillus saccharolyticus sp. nov., belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri group is described. This species was isolated in Denmark from treated hardwood. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach including phenotypic (morphology and extrolite...... Aspergillus species that is morphologically similar to Aspergillus japonicus and Aspergillus aculeatus, but has a totally different extrolite profile compared to any known Aspergillus species. The type strain of A. saccharolyticus sp. nov. is CBS 127449T ( = IBT 28509T)....

  9. Genetic diversity of Aspergillus species isolated from onychomycosis and Aspergillus hongkongensis sp. nov., with implications to antifungal susceptibility testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsang, Chi-Ching; Hui, Teresa W S; Lee, Kim-Chung; Chen, Jonathan H K; Ngan, Antonio H Y; Tam, Emily W T; Chan, Jasper F W; Wu, Andrea L; Cheung, Mei; Tse, Brian P H; Wu, Alan K L; Lai, Christopher K C; Tsang, Dominic N C; Que, Tak-Lun; Lam, Ching-Wan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Lau, Susanna K P; Woo, Patrick C Y

    2016-02-01

    Thirteen Aspergillus isolates recovered from nails of 13 patients (fingernails, n=2; toenails, n=11) with onychomycosis were characterized. Twelve strains were identified by multilocus sequencing as Aspergillus spp. (Aspergillus sydowii [n=4], Aspergillus welwitschiae [n=3], Aspergillus terreus [n=2], Aspergillus flavus [n=1], Aspergillus tubingensis [n=1], and Aspergillus unguis [n=1]). Isolates of A. terreus, A. flavus, and A. unguis were also identifiable by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The 13th isolate (HKU49(T)) possessed unique morphological characteristics different from other Aspergillus spp. Molecular characterization also unambiguously showed that HKU49(T) was distinct from other Aspergillus spp. We propose the novel species Aspergillus hongkongensis to describe this previously unknown fungus. Antifungal susceptibility testing showed most Aspergillus isolates had low MICs against itraconazole and voriconazole, but all Aspergillus isolates had high MICs against fluconazole. A diverse spectrum of Aspergillus species is associated with onychomycosis. Itraconazole and voriconazole are probably better drug options for Aspergillus onychomycosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Clinical characteristics of patients with Aspergillus species isolation from respiratory samples: Comparison of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and colonization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohara, Sayaka; Tazawa, Yoko; Tanai, Chiharu; Tanaka, Yoshiaki; Noda, Hiromichi; Horiuchi, Hajime; Usui, Kazuhiro

    2016-03-01

    With advancements in anti-fungal drugs, it has become more important to correctly diagnose chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA); however, it is not easy to distinguish CPA from colonization when Aspergillus species are isolated from respiratory samples. The aim of the study was to clarify the particular clinical characteristics of patients with CPA vs. those with colonization. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 110 patients with Aspergillus species isolation from respiratory samples, to analyze and compare the differences between CPA and colonization of the Aspergillus species. The median age of all analyzed was 71 years (range: 31-92 years); 64 were female (58%). The most frequently cultured Aspergillus species was Aspergillus fumigatus (48.3%), followed by A. niger (29.2%). Thirty patients (27.4%) were diagnosed with CPA, vs. 75 (68.2%) with colonization and 5 (4.5%) with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Compared with the colonization group, the CPA group included more males (CPA vs. colonization: 49.3% vs. 13.3%) and subjects with a low body mass index (18.45 kg/m2 vs. 21.09 kg/m2). As for the underlying pulmonary diseases, the patients with CPA showed a significantly higher prevalence of sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis (40% vs. 8%) and a history of thoracic surgery (43% vs. 13%) than those with colonization. Asthma was less frequent in the CPA group than in the colonization group (0% vs. 20%). We found no significantly important underlying extrapulmonary diseases. Patients with CPA display clinical characteristics distinct from those seen in subjects with colonization. Copyright © 2015 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Importance of Aspergillus spp. isolation in Acute exacerbations of severe COPD: prevalence, factors and follow-up: the FUNGI-COPD study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are often associated with infectious agents, some of which may be non-usual, including Aspergillus spp. However, the importance of Aspergillus spp. in the clinical management of AECOPD still remains unclear. Objectives The aims of the study were to analyze the prevalence and risk factors associated with Aspergillus spp. isolation in AECOPD, and to investigate the associated clinical outcomes during a 1-year follow-up period. Methods Patients presenting with an AECOPD requiring hospitalization were prospectively included from four hospitals across Spain. Clinical, radiological and microbiological data were collected at admission and during the follow-up period (1, 6 and 12 months after discharge), and re-admissions and mortality data collected during the follow-up. Results A total of 240 patients with severe AECOPD were included. Valid sputum samples were obtained in 144 (58%) patients, and in this group, the prevalence of Aspergillus spp. isolation was 16.6% on admission and 14.1% at one-year follow-up. Multivariate logistic-regression showed that AECOPD in the previous year (OR 12.35; 95% CI, 1.9-29.1; p Aspergillus spp. isolation. Conclusions The main risk factors for Aspergillus spp. isolation were AECOPD in the previous year and concomitant isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, although Aspergillus spp. is often isolated in sputum samples from patients with AECOPD, the pathogenic and clinical significance remains unclear. PMID:24517318

  12. Aspergillus uvarum sp. nov., an uniseriate black Aspergillus species isolated from grapes in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perrone, Giancarlo; Varga, János; Susca, Antonia

    2008-01-01

    uvarum sp. nov. isolates produced secalonic acid, common to other Aspergillus japonicus-related taxa, and geodin, erdin and dihydrogeodin, which are not produced by any other black aspergilli. None of the isolates were found to produce ochratoxin A. The novel species is most closely related to two......A novel species, Aspergillus uvarum sp. nov., is described within Aspergillus section Nigri. This species can be distinguished from other black aspergilli based on internal transcribed spacers (ITS), beta-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences, by AFLP analysis and by extrolite profiles. Aspergillus...

  13. PCR-RFLP on β-tubulin gene for rapid identification of the most clinically important species of Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasri, Tuba; Hedayati, Mohammad Taghi; Abastabar, Mahdi; Pasqualotto, Alessandro C; Armaki, Mojtaba Taghizadeh; Hoseinnejad, Akbar; Nabili, Mojtaba

    2015-10-01

    Aspergillus species are important agents of life-threatening infections in immunosuppressed patients. Proper speciation in the Aspergilli has been justified based on varied fungal virulence, clinical presentations, and antifungal resistance. Accurate identification of Aspergillus species usually relies on fungal DNA sequencing but this requires expensive equipment that is not available in most clinical laboratories. We developed and validated a discriminative low-cost PCR-based test to discriminate Aspergillus isolates at the species level. The Beta tubulin gene of various reference strains of Aspergillus species was amplified using the universal fungal primers Bt2a and Bt2b. The PCR products were subjected to digestion with a single restriction enzyme AlwI. All Aspergillus isolates were subjected to DNA sequencing for final species characterization. The PCR-RFLP test generated unique patterns for six clinically important Aspergillus species, including Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus clavatus and Aspergillus nidulans. The one-enzyme PCR-RFLP on Beta tubulin gene designed in this study is a low-cost tool for the reliable and rapid differentiation of the clinically important Aspergillus species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger as the dominant black Aspergillus, use of simple PCR-RFLP for preliminary differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirhendi, H; Zarei, F; Motamedi, M; Nouripour-Sisakht, S

    2016-03-01

    This work aimed to identify the species distribution of common clinical and environmental isolates of black Aspergilli based on simple restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the β-tubulin gene. A total of 149 clinical and environmental strains of black Aspergilli were collected and subjected to preliminary morphological examination. Total genomic DNAs were extracted, and PCR was performed to amplify part of the β-tubulin gene. At first, 52 randomly selected samples were species-delineated by sequence analysis. In order to distinguish the most common species, PCR amplicons of 117 black Aspergillus strains were identified by simple PCR-RFLP analysis using the enzyme TasI. Among 52 sequenced isolates, 28 were Aspergillus tubingensis, 21 Aspergillus niger, and the three remaining isolates included Aspergillus uvarum, Aspergillus awamori, and Aspergillus acidus. All 100 environmental and 17 BAL samples subjected to TasI-RFLP analysis of the β-tubulin gene, fell into two groups, consisting of about 59% (n=69) A. tubingensis and 41% (n=48) A. niger. Therefore, the method successfully and rapidly distinguished A. tubingensis and A. niger as the most common species among the clinical and environmental isolates. Although tardy, the Ehrlich test was also able to differentiate A. tubingensis and A. niger according to the yellow color reaction specific to A. niger. A. tubingensis and A. niger are the most common black Aspergillus in both clinical and environmental isolates in Iran. PCR-RFLP using TasI digestion of β-tubulin DNA enables rapid screening for these common species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Evaluation of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-fight mass spectrometry for identification of 345 clinical isolates of Aspergillus species from 11 Korean hospitals: comparison with molecular identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Ju Heon; Shin, Jong Hee; Choi, Min Ji; Choi, Jin Un; Park, Yeon-Joon; Jang, Sook Jin; Won, Eun Jeong; Kim, Soo Hyun; Kee, Seung Jung; Shin, Myung Geun; Suh, Soon Pal

    2017-01-01

    We evaluated the ability of the Filamentous Fungi Library 1.0 of the MALDI-TOF MS Biotyper system to identify 345 clinical Aspergillus isolates from 11 Korean hospitals. Compared with results of the internal transcribed spacer region sequencing, the frequencies of correct identification at the species-complex level were 94.5% and 98.8% with cutoff values of 2.0 and 1.7, respectively. Compared with results of β-tubulin gene sequencing, the frequencies of correct identification at the species level were 96.0% (cutoff 2.0) and 100% (cutoff 1.7) for 303 Aspergillus isolates of five common, non-cryptic species, but only 4.8% (cutoff 1.7) and 0% (cutoff 2.0) for 42 Aspergillus isolates of six cryptic species (identifiable by β-tubulin or calmodulin sequencing). These results show that the MALDI Biotyper using the Filamentous Fungi Library version 1.0 enables reliable identification of the majority of common clinical Aspergillus isolates, although the database should be expanded to facilitate identification of cryptic species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Ecophysiological characterization of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger isolated from grapes in Spanish vineyards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Cela, E; Crespo-Sempere, A; Ramos, A J; Sanchis, V; Marin, S

    2014-03-03

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the diversity of black aspergilli isolated from berries from different agroclimatic regions of Spain. Growth characterization (in terms of temperature and water activity requirements) of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger was carried out on synthetic grape medium. A. tubingensis and A. niger showed higher maximum temperatures for growth (>45 °C versus 40-42 °C), and lower minimum aw requirements (0.83 aw versus 0.87 aw) than A. carbonarius. No differences in growth boundaries due to their geographical origin were found within A. niger aggregate isolates. Conversely, A. carbonarius isolates from the hotter and drier region grew and produced OTA at lower aw than other isolates. However, little genetic diversity in A. carbonarius was observed for the microsatellites tested and the same sequence of β-tubulin gene was observed; therefore intraspecific variability did not correlate with the geographical origin of the isolates or with their ability to produce OTA. Climatic change prediction points to drier and hotter climatic scenarios where A. tubingensis and A. niger could be even more prevalent over A. carbonarius, since they are better adapted to extreme high temperature and drier conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Identification of clinical isolates of Aspergillus, including cryptic species, by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal-Acuña, M Reyes; Ruiz-Pérez de Pipaón, Maite; Torres-Sánchez, María José; Aznar, Javier

    2017-12-08

    An expanded library of matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been constructed using the spectra generated from 42 clinical isolates and 11 reference strains, including 23 different species from 8 sections (16 cryptic plus 7 noncryptic species). Out of a total of 379 strains of Aspergillus isolated from clinical samples, 179 strains were selected to be identified by sequencing of beta-tubulin or calmodulin genes. Protein spectra of 53 strains, cultured in liquid medium, were used to construct an in-house reference database in the MALDI-TOF MS. One hundred ninety strains (179 clinical isolates previously identified by sequencing and the 11 reference strains), cultured on solid medium, were blindy analyzed by the MALDI-TOF MS technology to validate the generated in-house reference database. A 100% correlation was obtained with both identification methods, gene sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS, and no discordant identification was obtained. The HUVR database provided species level (score of ≥2.0) identification in 165 isolates (86.84%) and for the remaining 25 (13.16%) a genus level identification (score between 1.7 and 2.0) was obtained. The routine MALDI-TOF MS analysis with the new database, was then challenged with 200 Aspergillus clinical isolates grown on solid medium in a prospective evaluation. A species identification was obtained in 191 strains (95.5%), and only nine strains (4.5%) could not be identified at the species level. Among the 200 strains, A. tubingensis was the only cryptic species identified. We demonstrated the feasibility and usefulness of the new HUVR database in MALDI-TOF MS by the use of a standardized procedure for the identification of Aspergillus clinical isolates, including cryptic species, grown either on solid or liquid media. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For

  18. screening and improvement of local isolates of aspergillus niger

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DR. AMINU

    ABSTRACT. The study involved the screening of fourteen isolates of Aspergillus niger for citric acid production from glucose. The study was aimed at screening and improving local strains of Aspergillus niger with potential for citric acid production. All the isolates screened produced varying amounts of citric acid, the highest ...

  19. Evaluation of the in vitro activity of isavuconazole and comparator voriconazole against 2635 contemporary clinical Candida and Aspergillus isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Astvad, K. M.T.; Hare, R. K.; Arendrup, M. C.

    2017-01-01

    Objective The in vitro activity of isavuconazole was determined for 1677 Candida and 958 Aspergillus isolates from 2012 to 2014 with voriconazole as comparator. Methods Aspergillus isolates were screened for resistance using azole-agar. Aspergillus isolates that screened positive and all Candida...

  20. In vitro antifungal susceptibility of clinical species belonging to Aspergillus genus and Rhizopus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachuei, R; Khodavaisy, S; Rezaie, S; Sharifynia, S

    2016-03-01

    Among filamentous fungal pathogens, Aspergillus spp. and zygomycetes account for highest rates of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. Recently developed antifungal drugs offer the potential to improve management and therapeutic outcomes of fungal infections. The aim of this study was to analyse the in vitro activities of voriconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B and caspofungin against clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. and Rhizopus oryzae. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility of 54 isolates belonging to different clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. and R. oryzae was tested for four antifungal agents using a microdilution reference method (CLSI, M38-A2). All isolates were identified by typical colony and microscopic characteristics, and also characterized by molecular methods. Caspofungin (MEC range: 0.008-0.25 and MEC50: 0.0023μg/mL) was the most active drug in vitro against Aspergillus spp., followed by voriconazole (MIC range: 0.031-8 and MIC50: 0.5μg/mL), itraconazole (MIC range: 0.031-16 and MIC50: 0.25μg/mL), and amphotericin B (MIC range: 0.125-4 and MIC50: 0.5μg/mL), in order of decreasing activity. The caspofungin, voriconazole, and itraconazole demonstrated poor in vitro activity against R. oryzae isolates evaluated, followed by amphotericin B. This study demonstrates that caspofungin had good antifungal activity and azole agents had better activity than amphotericin B against Aspergillus species. Although, azole drugs are considered ineffective against R. oryzae. This result is just from a small scale in vitro susceptibility study and we did not take other factors into consideration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for fast and accurate identification of clinically relevant Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alanio, A; Beretti, J-L; Dauphin, B; Mellado, E; Quesne, G; Lacroix, C; Amara, A; Berche, P; Nassif, X; Bougnoux, M-E

    2011-05-01

    New Aspergillus species have recently been described with the use of multilocus sequencing in refractory cases of invasive aspergillosis. The classical phenotypic identification methods routinely used in clinical laboratories failed to identify them adequately. Some of these Aspergillus species have specific patterns of susceptibility to antifungal agents, and misidentification may lead to inappropriate therapy. We developed a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS)-based strategy to adequately identify Aspergillus species to the species level. A database including the reference spectra of 28 clinically relevant species from seven Aspergillus sections (five common and 23 unusual species) was engineered. The profiles of young and mature colonies were analysed for each reference strain, and species-specific spectral fingerprints were identified. The performance of the database was then tested on 124 clinical and 16 environmental isolates previously characterized by partial sequencing of the β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. One hundred and thirty-eight isolates of 140 (98.6%) were correctly identified. Two atypical isolates could not be identified, but no isolate was misidentified (specificity: 100%). The database, including species-specific spectral fingerprints of young and mature colonies of the reference strains, allowed identification regardless of the maturity of the clinical isolate. These results indicate that MALDI-TOF MS is a powerful tool for rapid and accurate identification of both common and unusual species of Aspergillus. It can give better results than morphological identification in clinical laboratories. © 2010 The Authors. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2010 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  2. Aspergillus saccharolyticus sp. nov., a new black Aspergillus species isolated in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Annette; Lübeck, Peter S.; Lübeck, Mette

    2011-01-01

    A novel species, Aspergillus saccharolyticus sp. nov., belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri group is described. This species was isolated in Denmark from treated hardwood. Its taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach including phenotypic (morphology and extrolite...... profiles) and molecular (β-tubulin, internal transcribed spacer and calmodulin gene sequences, and universally primed PCR fingerprinting) analysis. Phenotypic and molecular data enabled this novel species to be clearly distinguished from other black aspergilli. A. saccharolyticus is a uniseriate...

  3. Isolation, Optimization, and Investigation of Production of Linoleic Acid in Aspergillus niger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noushin Shafiei

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Microorganisms that are capable of accumulating lipid up to 20% of their biomass are called oleaginous microorganisms. In this study, optimization in lipid and linolenic acid production was investigated in Aspergillus niger as an oleaginous filamentous fungi. Methods: In this study, at first different strains of filamentous fungi were isolated, and after staining of the isolates with Sudan Black, their oil was extracted using chloroform/methanol. Then, the isolates with oil/dry biomass ratio of more than 20% were considered as oleaginous filamentous fungi. After microscopic examination, the identified isolate was optimized in terms of oil production. Finally, the amount of linolenic acid was evaluated using gas chromatography. Results: At first, 20 filamentous fungi isolates were isolated. According to the results of Sudan Black staining, lipid inclusions were observed in all the fungal isolates. The amount of oil produced in all isolates, showed that the percentage of oil production in isolates 4, 5, and 16, was more than 20%. In microscopic examination, the isolate 5 was Aspergillus niger. The best pH, temperature, time, and carbon source for oil production by Aspergillus niger was 4.5, 30°C, 96 hours, and fructose, respectively. The amount of linolenic acid in Aspergillus niger was reported 22.4% using gas chromatography.   Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that Aspergillus niger is an appropriate filamentous fungi for linolenic acid production.   

  4. Typing clinical and animal environment Aspergillus fumigatus gliotoxin producer strains isolated from Brazil by PCR-RFLP markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleiro, C A; Pena, G A; Cavaglieri, L R; Coelho, I; Keller, L M; Dalcero, A M; Rosa, C A R

    2013-12-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus, a well-known human and animal pathogen causing aspergillosis, has been historically identified by morphological and microscopic features. However, recent studies have shown that species identification on the basis of morphology alone is problematic. The aim of this work was to confirm the taxonomic state at specie level of a set of clinical (human and animal) and animal environment A. fumigatus strains identified by morphological criteria applying a PCR-RFLP assay by an in silico and in situ analysis with three restriction enzymes. The A. fumigatus gliotoxin-producing ability was also determined. Previous to the in situ PCR-RFLP analysis, an in silico assay with BccI, MspI and Sau3AI restriction enzymes was carried out. After that, these enzymes were used for in situ assay. All A. fumigatus strains isolated from corn silage, human aspergillosis and bovine mastitis and high per cent of the strains isolated from cereals, animal feedstuff and sorghum silage were able to produce high gliotoxin levels. Also, all these strains identified by morphological criteria as A. fumigatus, regardless of its isolation source, had band patterns according to A. fumigatus sensu stricto by PCR-RFLP markers. Aspergillus fumigatus is a well-known human and animal pathogen causing aspergillosis. In this study, clinical (human and animal) and animal environment strains were able to produce high gliotoxin levels and had band profiles according to A. fumigatus sensu stricto by PCR-RFLP markers. The results obtained here suggest that strains involved in human and animal aspergillosis could come from the animal environment in which A. fumigatus is frequently found. Its presence in animal environments could affect animal health and productivity; in addition, there are risks of contamination for rural workers during handling and storage of animal feedstuffs. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  5. Comparison of Two Molecular Assays for Detection and Characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus Triazole Resistance and Cyp51A Mutations in Clinical Isolates and Primary Clinical Samples of Immunocompromised Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Postina

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In hematological patients, the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA caused by azole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus (ARAf is rising. As the diagnosis of IA is rarely based on positive culture in this group of patients, molecular detection of resistance mutations directly from clinical samples is crucial. In addition to the in-house azole resistance ARAf polymerase chain reaction (PCR assays detecting the frequent mutation combinations TR34/L98H, TR46/Y121F/T289A, and M220 in the Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus Cyp51A gene by subsequent DNA sequence analysis, we investigated in parallel the commercially available AsperGenius® real time PCR system in detecting the Cyp51A alterations TR34/L98H and Y121F/T289A directly from 52 clinical samples (15 biopsies, 22 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL, 15 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF samples and ARAf isolates (n = 3 of immunocompromised patients. We analyzed DNA aliquots and compared both methods concerning amplification and detection of Aspergillus DNA and Cyp51A alterations. As positive control for the feasibility of our novel Y121F and T289A PCR assays, we used two A. fumigatus isolates with the TR46/Y121F/T289A mutation combination isolated from hematological patients with known Cyp51A alterations and a lung biopsy sample of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML. The rate of positive ARAf PCR results plus successful sequencing using the ARAf PCR assays was 61% in biopsies, 29% in CSF, 67% in BAL samples and 100% in isolates. In comparison the amount of positive PCRs using the AsperGenius® assays was 47% in biopsies, 42% in CSF, 59% in BAL samples and 100% in isolates. Altogether 17 Cyp51A alterations were detected using our ARAf PCRs plus DNA sequencing and therefrom 10 alterations also by the AsperGenius® system. The comparative evaluation of our data revealed that our conventional PCR assays are more sensitive in detecting ARAf in BAL and biopsy samples, whereby differences were not significant

  6. In vitro susceptibility of 188 clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus flavus for the new triazole isavuconazole and seven other antifungal drugs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shivaprakash, M.R.; Geertsen, E.; Chakrabarti, A.; Mouton, J.W.; Meis, J.F.G.M.

    2011-01-01

    Recently isavuconazole, an experimental triazole agent, was found to be active against Aspergillus species. As Aspergillus flavus is the second-most common Aspergillus species isolated from human infection and the fungus has not been widely tested against the drug, we studied a large collection of

  7. Conventional Morphology Versus PCR Sequencing, rep-PCR, and MALDI-TOF-MS for Identification of Clinical Aspergillus Isolates Collected Over a 2-Year Period in a University Hospital at Kayseri, Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atalay, Altay; Koc, Ayse Nedret; Suel, Ahmet; Sav, Hafize; Demir, Gonca; Elmali, Ferhan; Cakir, Nuri; Seyedmousavi, Seyedmojtaba

    2016-09-01

    Aspergillus species cause a wide range of diseases in humans, including allergies, localized infections, or fatal disseminated diseases. Rapid detection and identification of Aspergillus spp. facilitate effective patient management. In the current study we compared conventional morphological methods with PCR sequencing, rep-PCR, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for the identification of Aspergillus strains. A total of 24 consecutive clinical isolates of Aspergillus were collected during 2012-2014. Conventional morphology and rep-PCR were performed in our Mycology Laboratory. The identification, evaluation, and reporting of strains using MALDI-TOF-MS were performed by BioMérieux Diagnostic, Inc. in Istanbul. DNA sequence analysis of the clinical isolates was performed by the BMLabosis laboratory in Ankara. Samples consisted of 18 (75%) lower respiratory tract specimens, 3 otomycosis (12.5%) ear tissues, 1 sample from keratitis, and 1 sample from a cutaneous wound. According to DNA sequence analysis, 12 (50%) specimens were identified as A. fumigatus, 8 (33.3%) as A. flavus, 3 (12.5%) as A. niger, and 1 (4.2%) as A. terreus. Statistically, there was good agreement between the conventional morphology and rep-PCR and MALDI-TOF methods; kappa values were κ = 0.869, 0.871, and 0.916, respectively (P < 0.001). The good level of agreement between the methods included in the present study and sequence method could be due to the identification of Aspergillus strains that were commonly encountered. Therefore, it was concluded that studies conducted with a higher number of isolates, which include other Aspergillus strains, are required. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Previously unknown species of Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, M; Normand, A-C; Ranque, S

    2016-08-01

    The use of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis has led to the description of previously unknown 'cryptic' Aspergillus species, whereas classical morphology-based identification of Aspergillus remains limited to the section or species-complex level. The current literature highlights two main features concerning these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species. First, the prevalence of such species in clinical samples is relatively high compared with emergent filamentous fungal taxa such as Mucorales, Scedosporium or Fusarium. Second, it is clearly important to identify these species in the clinical laboratory because of the high frequency of antifungal drug-resistant isolates of such Aspergillus species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been shown to enable the identification of filamentous fungi with an accuracy similar to that of DNA sequence-based methods. As MALDI-TOF MS is well suited to the routine clinical laboratory workflow, it facilitates the identification of these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species at the routine mycology bench. The rapid establishment of enhanced filamentous fungi identification facilities will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical importance of these emerging Aspergillus species. Based on routine MALDI-TOF MS-based identification results, we provide original insights into the key interpretation issues of a positive Aspergillus culture from a clinical sample. Which ubiquitous species that are frequently isolated from air samples are rarely involved in human invasive disease? Can both the species and the type of biological sample indicate Aspergillus carriage, colonization or infection in a patient? Highly accurate routine filamentous fungi identification is central to enhance the understanding of these previously unknown Aspergillus species, with a vital impact on further improved patient care. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and

  9. Antifungal activity of terrestrial Streptomyces rochei strain HF391 against clinical azole -resistant Aspergillus fumigatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadizadeh, S; Forootanfar, H; Shahidi Bonjar, GH; Falahati Nejad, M; Karamy Robati, A; Ayatollahi Mousavi, SA; Amirporrostami, S

    2015-01-01

    Background and Purpose: Actinomycetes have been discovered as source of antifungal compounds that are currently in clinical use. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) due to Aspergillus fumigatus has been identified as individual drug-resistant Aspergillus spp. to be an emerging pathogen opportunities a global scale. This paper described the antifungal activity of one terrestrial actinomycete against the clinically isolated azole-resistant A. fumigatus. Materials and Methods: Soil samples were collected from various locations of Kerman, Iran. Thereafter, the actinomycetes were isolated using starch-casein-nitrate-agar medium and the most efficient actinomycetes (capable of inhibiting A. fumigatus) were screened using agar block method. In the next step, the selected actinomycete was cultivated in starch-casein- broth medium and the inhibitory activity of the obtained culture broth was evaluated using agar well diffusion method. Results: The selected actinomycete, identified as Streptomyces rochei strain HF391, could suppress the growth of A. fumigatus isolates which was isolated from the clinical samples of patients treated with azoles. This strain showed higher inhibition zones on agar diffusion assay which was more than 15 mm. Conclusion: The obtained results of the present study introduced Streptomyces rochei strain HF391 as terrestrial actinomycete that can inhibit the growth of clinically isolated A. fumigatus. PMID:28680984

  10. Aspergillus fumigatus-Related Species in Clinical Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamoth, Frédéric

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus is the main etiologic agent of invasive aspergillosis (IA). Other Aspergillus species belonging to the section Fumigati (A. fumigatus complex) may occasionally be the cause of IA. These strains are often misidentified, as they cannot be distinguished from A. fumigatus by conventional morphological analysis and sequencing methods. This lack of recognition may have important consequences as these A. fumigatus-related species often display some level of intrinsic resistance to azoles and other antifungal drugs. A. lentulus, A. udagawae, A. viridinutans, and A. thermomutatus (Neosartorya pseudofischeri) have been associated with refractory cases of IA. Microbiologists should be able to suspect the presence of these cryptic species behind a putative A. fumigatus isolate on the basis of some simple characteristics, such as defect in sporulation and/or unusual antifungal susceptibility profile. However, definitive species identification requires specific sequencing analyses of the beta-tubulin or calmodulin genes, which are not available in most laboratories. Multiplex PCR assays or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization - time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) gave promising results for rapid and accurate distinction between A. fumigatus and other Aspergillus spp. of the section Fumigati in clinical practice. Improved diagnostic procedures and antifungal susceptibility testing may be helpful for the early detection and management of these particular IA cases.

  11. Aspergillus species isolated from mangrove forests in Borneo Island, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.S.S. Seelan

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available A study on the occurrence of Aspergillus spp. on selected mangrove forests in Sarawak was conducted to find out their diversity and distribution. Samples were obtained from mangrove soils and leaf litters at different locations, i.e. Sematan, Lundu, Kampung Bako, Bako in Sarawak. Soil and leaf litter samples were taken randomly at different locations with five replicates from each area. A total of 138 isolates of Aspergillus species were obtained from the soil and leaf litter samples by using direct plating and Warcup method. Based on both macroscopic and microscopic observations, using an identification key, individual isolates were classified within the genus Aspergillus, belonging to three subgenera, four sections and five species. The fungi isolates were identified as A. terreus, A. flavipes, A. carneus, A. fumigatus and A. clavatus. The most frequent isolated species was A. flavipes (63.04%, followed by A. fumigatus (16.7%, A. terreus (13.04%, A. carneus (5.8% and A. clavatus (1.44%. All of the isolated Aspergillus species grew well on MEA and CYA at 25°C. A. carneus produced reddish sclerotia on MEA after seven days and this could be used as an important characteristic in this species identification. A. clavatus from mangrove soil in Kampung Bako has shown long conidiophores (ranging from 3-5 cm with swollen hyphal structures, while A. clavatus from Sematan area has shorter conidiophores (ranging from 2.5-3.5 cm on MEA.

  12. Identification by Molecular Methods and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of Clinically Significant Rare Aspergillus Species in a Referral Chest Hospital in Delhi, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masih, Aradhana; Singh, Pradeep K; Kathuria, Shallu; Agarwal, Kshitij; Meis, Jacques F; Chowdhary, Anuradha

    2016-09-01

    Aspergillus species cause a wide spectrum of clinical infections. Although Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus remain the most commonly isolated species in aspergillosis, in the last decade, rare and cryptic Aspergillus species have emerged in diverse clinical settings. The present study analyzed the distribution and in vitro antifungal susceptibility profiles of rare Aspergillus species in clinical samples from patients with suspected aspergillosis in 8 medical centers in India. Further, a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry in-house database was developed to identify these clinically relevant Aspergillus species. β-Tubulin and calmodulin gene sequencing identified 45 rare Aspergillus isolates to the species level, except for a solitary isolate. They included 23 less common Aspergillus species belonging to 12 sections, mainly in Circumdati, Nidulantes, Flavi, Terrei, Versicolores, Aspergillus, and Nigri Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identified only 8 (38%) of the 23 rare Aspergillus isolates to the species level. Following the creation of an in-house database with the remaining 14 species not available in the Bruker database, the MALDI-TOF MS identification rate increased to 95%. Overall, high MICs of ≥2 μg/ml were noted for amphotericin B in 29% of the rare Aspergillus species, followed by voriconazole in 20% and isavuconazole in 7%, whereas MICs of >0.5 μg/ml for posaconazole were observed in 15% of the isolates. Regarding the clinical diagnoses in 45 patients with positive rare Aspergillus species cultures, 19 (42%) were regarded to represent colonization. In the remaining 26 patients, rare Aspergillus species were the etiologic agent of invasive, chronic, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, keratitis, and mycetoma. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  13. Identification by Molecular Methods and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of Clinically Significant Rare Aspergillus Species in a Referral Chest Hospital in Delhi, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masih, Aradhana; Singh, Pradeep K.; Kathuria, Shallu; Agarwal, Kshitij

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus species cause a wide spectrum of clinical infections. Although Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus remain the most commonly isolated species in aspergillosis, in the last decade, rare and cryptic Aspergillus species have emerged in diverse clinical settings. The present study analyzed the distribution and in vitro antifungal susceptibility profiles of rare Aspergillus species in clinical samples from patients with suspected aspergillosis in 8 medical centers in India. Further, a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry in-house database was developed to identify these clinically relevant Aspergillus species. β-Tubulin and calmodulin gene sequencing identified 45 rare Aspergillus isolates to the species level, except for a solitary isolate. They included 23 less common Aspergillus species belonging to 12 sections, mainly in Circumdati, Nidulantes, Flavi, Terrei, Versicolores, Aspergillus, and Nigri. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identified only 8 (38%) of the 23 rare Aspergillus isolates to the species level. Following the creation of an in-house database with the remaining 14 species not available in the Bruker database, the MALDI-TOF MS identification rate increased to 95%. Overall, high MICs of ≥2 μg/ml were noted for amphotericin B in 29% of the rare Aspergillus species, followed by voriconazole in 20% and isavuconazole in 7%, whereas MICs of >0.5 μg/ml for posaconazole were observed in 15% of the isolates. Regarding the clinical diagnoses in 45 patients with positive rare Aspergillus species cultures, 19 (42%) were regarded to represent colonization. In the remaining 26 patients, rare Aspergillus species were the etiologic agent of invasive, chronic, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, keratitis, and mycetoma. PMID:27413188

  14. Aspergillus fumigatus-Related Species in Clinical Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederic eLamoth

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus fumigatus is the main etiologic agent of invasive aspergillosis (IA. Other Aspergillus species belonging to the section Fumigati (A. fumigatus complex may occasionally be the cause of IA. These strains are often misidentified, as they cannot be distinguished from A. fumigatus by conventional morphological analysis and sequencing methods. This lack of recognition may have important consequences as these A. fumigatus-related species often display some level of intrinsic resistance to azoles and other antifungal drugs. A. lentulus, A. udagawae, A. viridinutans and A. thermomutatus (Neosartorya pseudofischeri have been associated with refractory cases of IA. Microbiologists should be able to suspect the presence of these cryptic species behind a putative A. fumigatus isolate on the basis of some simple characteristics, such as defect in sporulation and/or unusual antifungal susceptibility profile. However, definitive species identification requires specific sequencing analyses of the beta-tubulin or calmodulin genes, which are not available in most laboratories. Multiplex PCR assays or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization – time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS gave promising results for rapid and accurate distinction between A. fumigatus and other Aspergillus spp. of the section Fumigati in clinical practice. Improved diagnostic procedures and antifungal susceptibility testing may be helpful for the early detection and management of these particular IA cases.

  15. Identification of morphological and molecular Aspergillus species isolated from patients based on beta-tubulin gene sequencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahnaz Kheirkhah

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Aspergillus species are opportunistic pathogens among immunocompromised patients. In terms of pathogenesis and mycotoxin production, they are in great value. The aim of the this study was to evaluate of beta-tubulin gene for identification of clinical Aspergillus species by PCR-sequencing method compared to morphological features of clinical isolates (such as conidial shape in direct microscopic examination, colony shape in culture, and physiological tests. Materials and Methods: In this study, 465 patients referred to the Shefa laboratory of Isfahan were evaluated. Morphological and molecular identification of clinical samples were performed using culture on sabouraud agar, malt extract agar, czapekdox agar, direct microscopy, and PCR-sequencing of beta tubulin gene, respectively. Sequences were analyzed in comparison with gene bank data. Results: Thirty nine out of 465 suspected cases (8.4% had aspergillosis. The most prevalent species were Aspergillus flavus (56.4%, A. oryzae (20.5%, and A. fumigatus (10.2%, respectively. Fifty nine percent of patients were females and 49% were males. Conclusion: In comparison with phenotypic tests, sequencing of beta-tubulin gene for identification of Aspergillus species is at great value. Replacement of molecular techniques with conventional tests is recommended for precise identification of microorganism for better management of infection.

  16. Molecular identification of Aspergillus and Eurotium species isolated from rice and their toxin-producing ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yazdani, D; Zainal Abidin, M A; Tan, Y H; Kamaruzaman, S

    2011-01-01

    Thirty milled rice samples were collected from retailers in 4 provinces of Malaysia. These samples were evaluated for Aspergillus spp. infection by direct plating on malt extract salt agar (MESA). All Aspergillus holomorphs were isolated and identified using nucleotide sequences of ITS 1 and ITS 2 of rDNA. Five anamorphs (Aspergillus flavus, A. oryzae, A. tamarii, A. fumigatus and A. niger) and 5 teleomorphs (Eurotium rubrum, E. amstelodami, E. chevalieri, E. cristatum and E. tonophilum) were identified. The PCR-sequencing based technique for sequences of ITS 1 and ITS 2 is a fast technique for identification of Aspergillus and Eurotium species, although it doesn't work flawlessly for differentiation of Eurotium species. All Aspergillus and Eurotium isolates were screened for their ability to produce aflatoxin and ochratoxin A (OTA) by HPLC and TLC techniques. Only A. flavus isolate UPM 89 was able to produce aflatoxins B1 and B2.

  17. Identification by Molecular Methods and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of Clinically Significant Rare Aspergillus Species in a Referral Chest Hospital in Delhi, India

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masih, A.; Singh, P.K.; Kathuria, S.; Agarwal, K.; Meis, J.F.G.M.; Chowdhary, A.

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus species cause a wide spectrum of clinical infections. Although Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus remain the most commonly isolated species in aspergillosis, in the last decade, rare and cryptic Aspergillus species have emerged in diverse clinical settings. The present study

  18. Molecular characterization of Aspergillus infections in an Iranian educational hospital using RAPD-PCR method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kambiz Diba

    2014-09-01

    Conclusion: The hospital sources for the Aspergillus clinical isolates included air condition and walls. RAPD-PCR analysis can play a trivial role to find the hospital sources of Aspergillus clinical isolates.

  19. Ohcratoxin producing Aspergillus spp. Isolated from tropical soils in Sarawak, Malaysia

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    J.S.S. Seelan

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus strains isolated from tropical soils were selected for additional characterization and for ochratoxin analysis, which was determined by ELISA method and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC profiles. Because of its great morphological variability and mycotoxin production availability, 18 isolates of Aspergillus species were selected for this study. Only two isolates of these tropical soils, A. sulphureus and A. carbonarius, showed positive results for ohcratoxin (OA in lower concentration (0.05-0.10 µg/ml. Ochratoxin production by these species was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography. HPLC analysis for ochratoxin producing A. sulphureus and A. carbonarius showed retention time, Rt value = 4.417 and Rt value = 4.081 respectively.

  20. Characterization of toxigenic and atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus isolates from pistachio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thirty eight Aspergillus flavus isolates collected from a pistachio orchard in California were analyzed for production of aflatoxin (AF), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) and mating types. All toxigenic isolates produced both AFB1 and CPA. Twenty-one percent of the i...

  1. Isolate-dependent growth, virulence, and cell wall composition in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nansalmaa Amarsaikhan

    Full Text Available The ubiquitous fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is a mediator of allergic sensitization and invasive disease in susceptible individuals. The significant genetic and phenotypic variability between and among clinical and environmental isolates are important considerations in host-pathogen studies of A. fumigatus-mediated disease. We observed decreased radial growth, rate of germination, and ability to establish colony growth in a single environmental isolate of A. fumigatus, Af5517, when compared to other clinical and environmental isolates. Af5517 also exhibited increased hyphal diameter and cell wall β-glucan and chitin content, with chitin most significantly increased. Morbidity, mortality, lung fungal burden, and tissue pathology were decreased in neutropenic Af5517-infected mice when compared to the clinical isolate Af293. Our results support previous findings that suggest a correlation between in vitro growth rates and in vivo virulence, and we propose that changes in cell wall composition may contribute to this phenotype.

  2. Aspergillus Monitoring Project in a Large Educational Hospital ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Also molecular method, PCR-RFLP using single restriction enzyme as a rapid and available method was performed to investigate environmental sources of Aspergillus infections. Results: Total of 110 clinical fungal isolates included Candida and Aspergillus species and some other opportunistic fungi. Among the clinical

  3. Aspergillus pragensis sp nov discovered during molecular reidentification of clinical isolates belonging to Aspergillus section Candidi

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hubka, Vít; Lysková, P.; Frisvad, J.C.; Peterson, S.W.; Skořepová, M.; Kolařík, Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 52, č. 6 (2014), s. 565-576 ISSN 1369-3786 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0055; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0003 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Aspergillus candidus * Aspergillus tritici * antifungal susceptibility testing Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.335, year: 2014

  4. Thermal Characterization of Purified Glucose Oxidase from A Newly Isolated Aspergillus Niger UAF-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anjum Zia, Muhammad; Khalil-ur-Rahman; K. Saeed, Muhammad; Andaleeb, Fozia; I. Rajoka, Muhammad; A. Sheikh, Munir; A. Khan, Iftikhar; I. Khan, Azeem

    2007-01-01

    An intracellular glucose oxidase was isolated from the mycelium extract of a locally isolated strain of Aspergillus niger UAF-1. The enzyme was purified to a yield of 28.43% and specific activity of 135 U mg−1 through ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme showed high affinity for D-glucose with a Km value of 2.56 mM. The enzyme exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 5.5. Temperature optimum for glucose oxidase, catalyzed D-glucose oxidation was 40°C. The enzyme showed a high thermostability having a half-life 30 min, enthalpy of denaturation 99.66 kJ mol−1 and free energy of denaturation 103.63 kJ mol−1. These characteristics suggest the use of glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger UAF-1 as an analytical reagent and in the design of biosensors for clinical, biochemical and diagnostic assays. PMID:18193107

  5. Xylanase production by a newly isolated Aspergillus niger SS7 in submerged culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakri, Yasser; Al-Jazairi, Manal; Al-Kayat, Ghassan

    2008-01-01

    Xylanase production by a newly isolated Aspergillus niger SS7 was studied in submerged culture. The optimum initial pH for xylanase production was found to be 7.0. Different agricultural and industrial wastes were evaluated for their ability to induce xylanase production by this isolate. The best xylanase production (293.82 IU/ml) was recorded at 3% (w/v) corn cob hulls after 120 h of incubation. The Aspergillus niger SS7 isolate grown in a simple medium, proved to be a promising microorganism for xylanase production.

  6. Aspergillus asper sp. nov. and Aspergillus collinsii sp. nov., from Aspergillus section Usti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurjevic, Zeljko; Peterson, Stephen W

    2016-07-01

    In sampling fungi from the built environment, two isolates that could not confidently be placed in described species were encountered. Phenotypic analysis suggested that they belonged in Aspergillus sect. Usti. In order to verify the sectional placement and to assure that they were undescribed rather than phenotypically aberrant isolates, DNA was isolated and sequenced at the beta-tubulin, calmodulin, internal transcribed spacer and RNA polymerase II loci and sequences compared with those from other species in the genus Aspergillus. At each locus, each new isolate was distant from existing species. Phylogenetic trees calculated from these data and GenBank data for species of the section Usti excluded the placement of these isolates in existing species, with statistical support. Because they were excluded from existing taxa, the distinct species Aspergillus asper (type strain NRRL 35910 T ) and Aspergillus collinsii (type strain NRRL 66196 T ) in sect. Usti are proposed to accommodate these strains.

  7. Toxicity to Chicks of Aspergillus and Penicillium Species Isolated from Moldy Pecans 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doupnik, Ben; Bell, D. K.

    1971-01-01

    Isolates of Aspergillus chevalieri, A. flavus, A. ochraceus, A. repens, and Penicillium funiculosum and complexes of P. citrinum-P. implicatum isolated from moldy pecan meats were toxic to chicks. PMID:5564681

  8. In vitro activity of the novel antifungal compound F901318 against difficult-to-treat Aspergillus isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buil, J B; Rijs, A J M M; Meis, J F; Birch, M; Law, D; Melchers, W J G; Verweij, P E

    2017-09-01

    F901318 is a new antifungal agent with a novel mechanism of action with activity against Aspergillus species. We investigated the in vitro activity of F901318 against a collection of Aspergillus isolates. A total of 213 Aspergillus isolates were used in this study. A total of 143 Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto isolates were used, of which 133 were azole resistant [25 TR34/L98H; 25 TR46/Y121F/T289A; 33 A. fumigatus with cyp51A-associated point mutations (25 G54, 1 G432 and 7 M220); and 50 azole-resistant A. fumigatus without known resistance mechanisms]. Ten azole-susceptible A. fumigatus isolates were used as WT controls. The in vitro activity was also determined against Aspergillus calidoustus (25 isolates), Aspergillus flavus (10), Aspergillus nidulans (10) and Aspergillus tubingensis (25). F901318 activity was compared with that of itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, amphotericin B and anidulafungin. Minimum effective concentrations and MICs were determined using the EUCAST broth microdilution method. F901318 was active against all tested isolates: A. fumigatus WT, MIC90 0.125 mg/L (range 0.031-0.125); TR34/L98H,TR46/Y121F/T289A and azole resistant without known resistance mechanisms, MIC90 0.125 mg/L (range 0.031-0.25); A. fumigatus with cyp51A-associated point mutations, MIC90 0.062 mg/L (range 0.015-0.125); and other species, A. calidoustus MIC90 0.5 mg/L (range 0.125-0.5), A. flavus MIC90 0.062 mg/L (range 0.015-0.62), A. nidulans MIC90 0.125 mg/L (range 0.062-0.25) and A. tubingensis MIC90 0.062 mg/L (range 0.015-0.25). F901318 showed potent and consistent in vitro activity against difficult-to-treat Aspergillus spp. with intrinsic and acquired antifungal resistance due to known and unknown resistance mechanisms, suggesting no significant implications of azole resistance mechanisms for the mode of action of F901318. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for

  9. Characteristic clinical features of Aspergillus appendicitis: Case report and literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjeorgjievski, Mihajlo; Amin, Mitual B; Cappell, Mitchell S

    2015-11-28

    This work aims to facilitate diagnosing Aspergillus appendicitis, which can be missed clinically due to its rarity, by proposing a clinical pentad for Aspergillus appendicitis based on literature review and one new case. The currently reported case of pathologically-proven Aspergillus appendicitis was identified by computerized search of pathology database at William Beaumont Hospital, 1999-2014. Prior cases were identified by computerized literature search. Among 10980 pathology reports of pathologically-proven appendicitis, one case of Aspergillus appendicitis was identified (rate = 0.01%). A young boy with profound neutropenia, recent chemotherapy, and acute myelogenous leukemia presented with right lower quadrant pain, pyrexia, and generalized malaise. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed a thickened appendiceal wall and periappendiceal inflammation, suggesting appendicitis. Emergent laparotomy showed an inflamed, thickened appendix, which was resected. The patient did poorly postoperatively with low-grade-fevers while receiving antibacterial therapy, but rapidly improved after initiating amphotericin therapy. Microscopic examination of a silver stain of the appendectomy specimen revealed fungi with characteristic Aspergillus morphology, findings confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Primary Aspergillus appendicitis is exceptionally rare, with only 3 previously reported cases. All three cases presented with (1)-neutropenia, (2)-recent chemotherapy, (3)-acute leukemia, and (4)-suspected appendicitis; (5)-the two prior cases initially treated with antibacterial therapy, fared poorly before instituting anti-Aspergillus therapy. The current patient satisfied all these five criteria. Based on these four cases, a clinical pentad is proposed for Aspergillus appendicitis: clinically-suspected appendicitis, neutropenia, recent chemotherapy, acute leukemia, and poor clinical response if treated solely by antibacterial/anti-candidial therapy. Patients presenting with

  10. Notable fibrolytic enzyme production by Aspergillus spp. isolates from the gastrointestinal tract of beef cattle fed in lignified pastures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flávia Oliveira Abrão

    Full Text Available Fungi have the ability to degrade vegetal cell wall carbohydrates, and their presence in the digestive tract of ruminants can minimize the effects of lignified forage on ruminal fermentation. Here, we evaluated enzyme production by Aspergillus spp. isolates from the digestive tracts of cattle grazed in tropical pastures during the dry season. Filamentous fungi were isolated from rumen and feces by culture in cellulose-based medium. Ninety fungal strains were isolated and identified by rDNA sequence analysis, microculture, or both. Aspergillus terreus was the most frequently isolated species, followed by Aspergillus fumigatus. The isolates were characterized with respect to their cellulolytic, xylanolytic, and lignolytic activity through qualitative evaluation in culture medium containing a specific corresponding carbon source. Carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase activity was quantified by the reducing sugar method. In the avicel and xilan degradation test, the enzyme activity (EA at 48 h was significantly higher other periods (P < 0.05. Intra- and inter-specific differences in EA were verified, and high levels of phenoloxidases, which are crucial for lignin degradation, were observed in 28.9% of the isolates. Aspergillus terreus showed significantly higher EA for avicelase (3.96 ±1.77 and xylanase (3.13 ±.091 than the other Aspergillus species at 48 h of incubation. Isolates AT13 and AF69 showed the highest CMCase specific activity (54.84 and 33.03 U mg-1 protein, respectively. Selected Aspergillus spp. isolates produced remarkable levels of enzymes involved in vegetal cell wall degradation, suggesting their potential as antimicrobial additives or probiotics in ruminant diets.

  11. Secondary metabolite profiles and antifungal drug susceptibility of Aspergillus fumigatus and closely related species, Aspergillus lentulus, Aspergillus udagawae, and Aspergillus viridinutans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamiya, Hiroyuki; Ochiai, Eri; Kikuchi, Kazuyo; Yahiro, Maki; Toyotome, Takahito; Watanabe, Akira; Yaguchi, Takashi; Kamei, Katsuhiko

    2015-05-01

    The incidence of Aspergillus infection has been increasing in the past few years. Also, new Aspergillus fumigatus-related species, namely Aspergillus lentulus, Aspergillus udagawae, and Aspergillus viridinutans, were shown to infect humans. These fungi exhibit marked morphological similarities to A. fumigatus, albeit with different clinical courses and antifungal drug susceptibilities. The present study used liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry to identify the secondary metabolites secreted as virulence factors by these Aspergillus species and compared their antifungal susceptibility. The metabolite profiles varied widely among A. fumigatus, A. lentulus, A. udagawae, and A. viridinutans, producing 27, 13, 8, and 11 substances, respectively. Among the mycotoxins, fumifungin, fumiquinazoline A/B and D, fumitremorgin B, gliotoxin, sphingofungins, pseurotins, and verruculogen were only found in A. fumigatus, whereas auranthine was only found in A. lentulus. The amount of gliotoxin, one of the most abundant mycotoxins in A. fumigatus, was negligible in these related species. In addition, they had decreased susceptibility to antifungal agents such as itraconazole and voriconazole, even though metabolites that were shared in the isolates showing higher minimum inhibitory concentrations than epidemiological cutoff values were not detected. These strikingly different secondary metabolite profiles may lead to the development of more discriminative identification protocols for such closely related Aspergillus species as well as improved treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Isolation and chemical characterization of naphthoquinone metabolites of Aspergillus parvulus Smith

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, C.C.P.

    1984-01-01

    Although several benzoquinone and anthraquinone compounds have been isolated from Aspergillus species, only two naphthoquinone monomers have been reported thus far. Aspergillus parvulus Smith (ATCC number16911) was first investigated chemically in 1974, and five naphthalenones, along with one naphthoquinone, were isolated and characterized. Based on biosynthetic considerations, it was thought that A. parvulus might be capable of producing additional naphthoquinones under suitable conditions. It was decided to undertake a further investigation of A. parvulus. Thus, three novel naphthoquinones, compounds A, B, and C, were isolated from A. parvulus cultures grown in an acidic medium of glucose and phytone peptone. The structures of these compounds were deduced largely by the comparison of the effects of acetylation on the 1 H-NMR and 13 C-NMR spectra of the parent compounds and their four derivatives. An unusual mass fragmentation pattern which was previously thought to be unfavorable was discovered, and the other fragmentation patterns of the parent compounds, as well as their derivatives, were proposed. This investigation appears to be the third reported isolation of 2,5,7-tri-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives from nature and the first reported from A. parvulus

  13. Species identification of Aspergillus section Flavi isolates from Portuguese almonds using phenotypic, including MALDI-TOF ICMS, and molecular approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, P; Santos, C; Venâncio, A; Lima, N

    2011-10-01

    Section Flavi is one of the most significant sections in the genus Aspergillus. Taxonomy of this section currently depends on multivariate approaches, entailing phenotypic and molecular traits. This work aimed to identify isolates from section Flavi by combining various classic phenotypic and genotypic methods as well as the novel approach based on spectral analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF ICMS) and to evaluate the discriminatory power of the various approaches in species identification.   Aspergillus section Flavi isolates obtained from Portuguese almonds were characterized in terms of macro- and micromorphology, mycotoxin pattern, calmodulin gene sequence and MALDI-TOF protein fingerprint spectra. For each approach, dendrograms were created and results were compared. All data sets divided the isolates into three groups, corresponding to taxa closely related to Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus tamarii. In the A. flavus clade, molecular and spectral analyses were not able to resolve between aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic isolates. In the A. parasiticus cluster, two well-resolved clades corresponded to unidentified taxa, corresponding to those isolates with mycotoxin profile different from that expected for A. parasiticus. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2011 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  14. Biosolubilization of poorly soluble rock phosphates by Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, M.S.; Kumar, S.; Babita, K. [Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (India). School of Biotechnology; Reddy, M.S. [Auburn University, AL (United States). Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

    2002-09-01

    Three isolates of Aspergillus tubingensis and two isolates of Aspergillus niger isolated from rhizospheric soils were tested on solubilization of different rock phosphates. All the isolates of Aspergillus were capable of solubilizing all the natural rock phosphates. A. tubingensis (AT1) showed maximum percent solubilization in all the rock phosphates tested in this study when compared to other isolates. This isolate also showed highest phosphorus (P) solubilization when grown in the presence of 2% of rock phosphate. A. tubingensis (AT1) seems to be more efficient in solubilization of rock phosphates compared to other isolates reported elsewhere. This is the first report of rock phosphate solubilization by A. tubingensis and might provide an efficient large scale biosolubilization of rock phosphates intended for P fertilizer. (author)

  15. Molecular characterisation of Aspergillus flavus isolates from peanut fields in India using AFLP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diwakar Singh

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Aflatoxin contamination of peanut, due to infection by Aspergillus flavus, is a major problem of rain-fed agriculture in India. In the present study, molecular characterisation of 187 Aspergillus flavus isolates, which were sampled from the peanut fields of Gujarat state in India, was performed using AFLP markers. On a pooled cluster analysis, the markers could successfully discriminate among the ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘G’ group A. flavus isolates. PCoA analysis also showed equivalent results to the cluster analysis. Most of the isolates from one district could be clustered together, which indicated genetic similarity among the isolates. Further, a lot of genetic variability was observed within a district and within a group. The results of AMOVA test revealed that the variance within a population (84% was more than that between two populations (16%. The isolates, when tested by indirect competitive ELISA, showed about 68.5% of them to be atoxigenic. Composite analysis between the aflatoxin production and AFLP data was found to be ineffective in separating the isolate types by aflatoxigenicity. Certain unique fragments, with respect to individual isolates, were also identified that may be used for development of SCAR marker to aid in rapid and precise identification of isolates.

  16. Susceptibility testing of sequential isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus recovered from treated patients.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Danaoui, E.; Meletiadis, J.; Tortorano, A.M.; Symoens, F.; Nolard, N.; Viviani, M.A.; Piens, M.A.; Lebeau, B.; Verweij, P.E.; Grillot, R.

    2004-01-01

    Two-hundred sequential Aspergillus fumigatus isolates recovered from 26 immunocompromised patients with invasive aspergillosis or bronchial colonization were tested for their in vitro susceptibility to posaconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, terbinafine and amphotericin B. Twenty-one patients were

  17. Taxonomic Characterization and Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Aspergillus Section Aspergillus Contaminating Feeds and Feedstuffs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greco, Mariana; Kemppainen, Minna; Pose, Graciela; Pardo, Alejandro

    2015-01-01

    Xerophilic fungal species of the genus Aspergillus are economically highly relevant due to their ability to grow on low water activity substrates causing spoilage of stored goods and animal feeds. These fungi can synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites, many of which show animal toxicity, creating a health risk for food production animals and to humans as final consumers, respectively. Animal feeds used for rabbit, chinchilla and rainbow trout production in Argentina were analysed for the presence of xerophilic Aspergillus section Aspergillus species. High isolation frequencies (>60%) were detected in all the studied rabbit and chinchilla feeds, while the rainbow trout feeds showed lower fungal charge (25%). These section Aspergillus contaminations comprised predominantly five taxa. Twenty isolates were subjected to taxonomic characterization using both ascospore SEM micromorphology and two independent DNA loci sequencing. The secondary metabolite profiles of the isolates were determined qualitatively by HPLC-MS. All the isolates produced neoechinulin A, 17 isolates were positive for cladosporin and echinulin, and 18 were positive for neoechinulin B. Physcion and preechinulin were detected in a minor proportion of the isolates. This is the first report describing the detailed species composition and the secondary metabolite profiles of Aspergillus section Aspergillus contaminating animal feeds. PMID:26364643

  18. Taxonomic Characterization and Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Aspergillus Section Aspergillus Contaminating Feeds and Feedstuffs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Greco

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Xerophilic fungal species of the genus Aspergillus are economically highly relevant due to their ability to grow on low water activity substrates causing spoilage of stored goods and animal feeds. These fungi can synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites, many of which show animal toxicity, creating a health risk for food production animals and to humans as final consumers, respectively. Animal feeds used for rabbit, chinchilla and rainbow trout production in Argentina were analysed for the presence of xerophilic Aspergillus section Aspergillus species. High isolation frequencies (>60% were detected in all the studied rabbit and chinchilla feeds, while the rainbow trout feeds showed lower fungal charge (25%. These section Aspergillus contaminations comprised predominantly five taxa. Twenty isolates were subjected to taxonomic characterization using both ascospore SEM micromorphology and two independent DNA loci sequencing. The secondary metabolite profiles of the isolates were determined qualitatively by HPLC-MS. All the isolates produced neoechinulin A, 17 isolates were positive for cladosporin and echinulin, and 18 were positive for neoechinulin B. Physcion and preechinulin were detected in a minor proportion of the isolates. This is the first report describing the detailed species composition and the secondary metabolite profiles of Aspergillus section Aspergillus contaminating animal feeds.

  19. Taxonomic Characterization and Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Aspergillus Section Aspergillus Contaminating Feeds and Feedstuffs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greco, Mariana; Kemppainen, Minna; Pose, Graciela; Pardo, Alejandro

    2015-09-02

    Xerophilic fungal species of the genus Aspergillus are economically highly relevant due to their ability to grow on low water activity substrates causing spoilage of stored goods and animal feeds. These fungi can synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites, many of which show animal toxicity, creating a health risk for food production animals and to humans as final consumers, respectively. Animal feeds used for rabbit, chinchilla and rainbow trout production in Argentina were analysed for the presence of xerophilic Aspergillus section Aspergillus species. High isolation frequencies (>60%) were detected in all the studied rabbit and chinchilla feeds, while the rainbow trout feeds showed lower fungal charge (25%). These section Aspergillus contaminations comprised predominantly five taxa. Twenty isolates were subjected to taxonomic characterization using both ascospore SEM micromorphology and two independent DNA loci sequencing. The secondary metabolite profiles of the isolates were determined qualitatively by HPLC-MS. All the isolates produced neoechinulin A, 17 isolates were positive for cladosporin and echinulin, and 18 were positive for neoechinulin B. Physcion and preechinulin were detected in a minor proportion of the isolates. This is the first report describing the detailed species composition and the secondary metabolite profiles of Aspergillus section Aspergillus contaminating animal feeds.

  20. Multilocus phylogeny and antifungal susceptibility of Aspergillus section Circumdati from clinical samples and description of A. pseudosclerotiorum sp. nov.

    Science.gov (United States)

    A multilocus phylogenetic study was carried out to assess the species distribution in a set of 34 clinical isolates of Aspergillus section Circumdati from the USA and their in vitro antifungal susceptibility were determined against eight antifungal drugs. The genetic markers used were ITS, BenA, CaM...

  1. Aspergillus species as emerging causative agents of onychomycosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nouripour-Sisakht, S; Mirhendi, H; Shidfar, M R; Ahmadi, B; Rezaei-Matehkolaei, A; Geramishoar, M; Zarei, F; Jalalizand, N

    2015-06-01

    Onychomycosis is a common nail infection caused by dermatophytes, non-dermatophyte molds (NDM), and yeasts. Aspergillus species are emerging as increasing causes of toenail onychomycosis. The purpose of this study was species delineation of Aspergillus spp. isolated from patients with onychomycosis. During a period of one year (2012-2013), nail samples were collected from patients clinically suspected of onychomycosis and subjected to microscopic examination and culture. Species identification was performed based on macro- and micro-morphology of colonies. For precise species identification, PCR-amplification and sequencing of the beta-tubulin gene followed by BLAST queries were performed where required. A total of 463/2,292 (20.2%) tested nails were diagnosed with onychomycosis. Among the positive specimens, 154 cases (33.2%) were identified as saprophytic NDM onychomycosis, 135 (29.2%) of which were attributable to Aspergillus. Aspergillus species isolated from the infected nails included Aspergillus flavus (77.3%, n=119), Aspergillus niger (n=4), Aspergillus tubingensis (n=4), Aspergillus terreus (n=3), Aspergillus sydowii (n=2), Aspergillus spp. (n=2), and Aspergillus candidus (n=1). Among the patients diagnosed with onychomycosis due to Aspergillus (average patient age, 47.4 years), 40 had fingernail and 95 toenail involvement. The large toenails were most commonly affected. This study identified a markedly high occurrence of A. flavus, and this fungus appears to be an emerging cause of saprophytic onychomycosis in Iran. The study moreover highlights the necessity of differentiating between dermatophytic and non-dermatophytic nail infections for informed decisions on appropriate therapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Misidentification of Aspergillus nomius and Aspergillus tamarii as Aspergillus flavus: characterization by internal transcribed spacer, β-Tubulin, and calmodulin gene sequencing, metabolic fingerprinting, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Emily W T; Chen, Jonathan H K; Lau, Eunice C L; Ngan, Antonio H Y; Fung, Kitty S C; Lee, Kim-Chung; Lam, Ching-Wan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Lau, Susanna K P; Woo, Patrick C Y

    2014-04-01

    Aspergillus nomius and Aspergillus tamarii are Aspergillus species that phenotypically resemble Aspergillus flavus. In the last decade, a number of case reports have identified A. nomius and A. tamarii as causes of human infections. In this study, using an internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin, and calmodulin gene sequencing, only 8 of 11 clinical isolates reported as A. flavus in our clinical microbiology laboratory by phenotypic methods were identified as A. flavus. The other three isolates were A. nomius (n = 2) or A. tamarii (n = 1). The results corresponded with those of metabolic fingerprinting, in which the A. flavus, A. nomius, and A. tamarii strains were separated into three clusters based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC MS) analysis. The first two patients with A. nomius infections had invasive aspergillosis and chronic cavitary and fibrosing pulmonary and pleural aspergillosis, respectively, whereas the third patient had A. tamarii colonization of the airway. Identification of the 11 clinical isolates and three reference strains by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) showed that only six of the nine strains of A. flavus were identified correctly. None of the strains of A. nomius and A. tamarii was correctly identified. β-Tubulin or the calmodulin gene should be the gene target of choice for identifying A. flavus, A. nomius, and A. tamarii. To improve the usefulness of MALDI-TOF MS, the number of strains for each species in MALDI-TOF MS databases should be expanded to cover intraspecies variability.

  3. Misidentification of Aspergillus nomius and Aspergillus tamarii as Aspergillus flavus: Characterization by Internal Transcribed Spacer, β-Tubulin, and Calmodulin Gene Sequencing, Metabolic Fingerprinting, and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Emily W. T.; Chen, Jonathan H. K.; Lau, Eunice C. L.; Ngan, Antonio H. Y.; Fung, Kitty S. C.; Lee, Kim-Chung; Lam, Ching-Wan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

    2014-01-01

    Aspergillus nomius and Aspergillus tamarii are Aspergillus species that phenotypically resemble Aspergillus flavus. In the last decade, a number of case reports have identified A. nomius and A. tamarii as causes of human infections. In this study, using an internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin, and calmodulin gene sequencing, only 8 of 11 clinical isolates reported as A. flavus in our clinical microbiology laboratory by phenotypic methods were identified as A. flavus. The other three isolates were A. nomius (n = 2) or A. tamarii (n = 1). The results corresponded with those of metabolic fingerprinting, in which the A. flavus, A. nomius, and A. tamarii strains were separated into three clusters based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC MS) analysis. The first two patients with A. nomius infections had invasive aspergillosis and chronic cavitary and fibrosing pulmonary and pleural aspergillosis, respectively, whereas the third patient had A. tamarii colonization of the airway. Identification of the 11 clinical isolates and three reference strains by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) showed that only six of the nine strains of A. flavus were identified correctly. None of the strains of A. nomius and A. tamarii was correctly identified. β-Tubulin or the calmodulin gene should be the gene target of choice for identifying A. flavus, A. nomius, and A. tamarii. To improve the usefulness of MALDI-TOF MS, the number of strains for each species in MALDI-TOF MS databases should be expanded to cover intraspecies variability. PMID:24452174

  4. Biodiversity and ochratoxin A profile of Aspergillus section Nigri populations isolated from wine grapes in Cyprus vineyards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantelides, Iakovos S; Aristeidou, Efi; Lazari, Maria; Tsolakidou, Maria-Dimitra; Tsaltas, Dimitris; Christofidou, Maria; Kafouris, Demetris; Christou, Eftychia; Ioannou, Nicolas

    2017-10-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the biodiversity of Aspergillus section Nigri populations from Cyprus vineyards by morphological, toxigenic and phylogenetic analysis. Aspergillus section Nigri populations were isolated from grapes of the varieties 'Maratheftiko' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' originating from six growing regions of Cyprus during 2010 and 2011 years. The isolation frequency of Aspergillus section Nigri from grape samples was 43.3% and a total of 284 isolates were selected for further analyses based on the macroscopic characteristics of black aspergilli. The isolates were characterized by sequencing analysis of the calmodulin gene in order to identify species responsible for ochratoxin A (OTA) production. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates were grouped in three major clusters. The A. tubingensis cluster included 262 isolates (92.25%), the A. niger cluster included 15 isolates identified as A. niger (5.3%) and 6 isolates identified as A. welwitschiae (2.1%). One isolate was classified as A. carbonarius (0.35%) and was grouped in a cluster together with the reference isolates of A. carbonarius, A. sclerotioniger, A. sclerotiocarbonarius and A. ibericus. All the isolates were evaluated for their ochratoxigenic ability by HPLC coupled with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) and the positive isolates were re-examined using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The Aspergillus carbonarius isolate produced an average quantity of 1436.1 ng OTA/g Czapek Yeast Agar (CYA); From the A. niger strains three isolates (20%) produced OTA and only one isolate from A. welwitschiae (16.7%) was proved ochratoxigenic with toxin production average at 23.9 ng/g and 9.1 ng/g CYA respectively. Grape must samples derived from the collected berries were also analyzed for OTA and none of the samples were found contaminated with the mycotoxin. The results showed that the geographic area and the

  5. Antifungal susceptibility testing of Aspergillus species complex in the Clinical Laboratory: how to do it, when to do it, and how to interpret it

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    Esther Manso

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of drug resistance in fungal pathogens has a profound impact on human health given limited number of antifungal drugs. Antifungal resistance in Aspergillus spp. infection can be encountered in the antifungal drug-exposed patient due to selection of intrinsically resistant species or isolates with acquired resistance belonging to species that are normally susceptible. Resistance to triazoles is not common in Aspergillus spp., however, triazole resistance in A. fumigatus appears to be increasing in several European countries in recent years and can be clinically relevant. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing have developed breakpoints and epidemiological cutoff values that are now established for Aspergillus spp. Clinical microbiology laboratories will be employed commercial susceptibility assays, rather than reference broth microdilution methods and comparative studies are particularly important.

  6. Isolation, characterization and optimization of culture parameters for production of an alkaline protease isolated from Aspergillus tamarii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anandan, Dayanandan; Marmer, William N; Dudley, Robert L

    2007-05-01

    Aspergillus tamarii expresses an extracellular alkaline protease that we show to be effective in removing hair from cattle hide. Large quantities of the enzyme will be required for the optimization of the enzymatic dehairing process so the growth conditions for maximum protease expression by A. tamarii were optimized for both solid-state culture on wheat bran and for broth culture. Optimal protease expression occurred, for both cultural media, at initial pH 9; the culture was incubated at 30 degrees C for 96 h using a 5% inoculum. The crude enzyme was isolated, purified and characterized using MALDI TOF TOF. The alkaline protease was homologous to the alkaline protease expressed by Aspergillus viridinutans.

  7. Molecular Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of an Endolichenic Fungus, Aspergillus sp. Isolated from Parmelia caperata of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padhi, Srichandan; Das, Devaranjan; Panja, Suraj; Tayung, Kumananda

    2017-06-01

    Endolichenic fungi are microbes that inhabit healthy inner lichen tissues without any disease symptoms. They have been reported to produce new and interesting bioactive metabolites. In the present study, an endolichenic fungus frequently isolated from surface-sterilized lichen thallus of Parmelia caperata has been described. The fungus was identified as Aspergillus tubingensis based on morphological traits and ITS rDNA sequence. Crude metabolites extracted from the culture broth exhibited considerable antimicrobial activity against a panel of clinically significant human pathogens. The fungus showed optimum antimicrobial activity in PDB medium in day 7 of incubation period. PDB medium amended with 1 % NaCl and at alkaline pH was found to be optimal for antimicrobial metabolites production. Enhanced activity was observed when the fungus was exposed briefly to a heat shock of 60 °C during incubation. The metabolites showed optimum λ-max at 214 nm with an absorbance value of 1.589. Molecular characterization of the isolate was carried out by ITS phylogeny and ITS2 secondary structure analyses. The phylogenetic trees based on both ITS rDNA and ITS2 sequences showed the isolate within the clade A. tubingensis. Considering the ubiquity and ambiguity in identifying Aspergillus species of different lifestyles, a method to differentiate pathogenic and endophytic Aspergillus at species level was developed using ITS2 secondary structure analysis. The results showed common folding pattern in the secondary structures with a helix and a 5' dangling end found to be highly conserved. Certain features in the secondary structure like multi-bulges and a symmetric interior loop were observed to be unique which distinguish our isolate from other A. tubingensis.

  8. Aspergillus Osteomyelitis: Epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations, Management, and Outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamaletsou, Maria N.; Rammaert, Blandine; Bueno, Marimelle A.; Moriyama, Brad; Sipsas, Nikolaos V.; Kontoyiannis, Dimitrios P.; Roilides, Emmanuel; Zeller, Valerie; Prinapori, Roberta; Tajaldeen, Saad Jaber; Brause, Barry; Lortholary, Olivier; Walsh, Thomas J.

    2014-01-01

    Background The epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of Aspergillus osteomyelitis are not well understood. Methods Protocol-defined cases of Aspergillus osteomyelitis published in the English literature were reviewed for comorbidities, microbiology, mechanisms of infection, clinical manifestations, radiological findings, inflammatory biomarkers, antifungal therapy, and outcome. Results Among 180 evaluable patients, 127 (71%) were males. Possible predisposing medical conditions in 103 (57%) included pharmacological immunosuppression, primary immunodeficiency, and neutropenia. Seventy-three others (41%) had prior open fracture, trauma or surgery. Eighty (44%) followed a hematogenous mechanism, 58 (32%) contiguous infections, and 42 (23%) direct inoculation. Aspergillus osteomyelitis was the first manifestation of aspergillosis in 77%. Pain and tenderness were present in 80%. The most frequently infected sites were vertebrae (46%), cranium (23%), ribs (16%), and long bones (13%). Patients with vertebral Aspergillus osteomyelitis had more previous orthopedic surgery (19% vs 0%; P=0.02), while those with cranial osteomyelitis had more diabetes mellitus (32% vs 8%; P=0.002) and prior head/neck surgery (12% vs 0%; P=0.02). Radiologic findings included osteolysis, soft-tissue extension, and uptake on T2-weighted images. Vertebral body Aspergillus osteomyelitis was complicated by spinal-cord compression in 47% and neurological deficits in 41%. Forty-four patients (24%) received only antifungal therapy, while 121(67%) were managed with surgery and antifungal therapy. Overall mortality was 25%. Median duration of therapy was 90 days (range, 10–772 days). There were fewer relapses in patients managed with surgery plus antifungal therapy in comparison to those managed with antifungal therapy alone (8% vs 30%; P=0.006). Conclusions Aspergillus osteomyelitis is a debilitating infection affecting both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. The most

  9. Geographically predominant genotypes of Aspergillus terreus species complex in Austria: s microsatellite typing study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lackner, M.; Coassin, S.; Haun, M.; Binder, U.; Kronenberg, F.; Haas, H. de; Jank, M.; Maurer, E.; Meis, J.F.; Hagen, F.; Lass-Florl, C.

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus terreus species complex is recognized as a frequent agent of invasive aspergillosis in Tyrol. The reason for this specific epidemiological situation is unclear. Aspergillus terreus strains isolated from environmental and clinical sources were genotyped using a novel panel of short tandem

  10. Karnatakafuran A and B: Two novel dibenzofurans isolated from the fungus Aspergillus karnatakaensis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manniche, S.; Sprogøe, K.; Dalsgaard, Petur

    2004-01-01

    Karnatakafurans A (1) and B (2), two novel dibenzofurans, have been isolated from the Specie Novum Aspergillus karnatakaensis Frisvad. The compounds were the major secondary metabolites and were isolated through UV-guided fractionation. of the organic extract. The structures were elucidated by sp...... by spectroscopic methods including MS and NMR. The compounds were tested for antimicrobial and antimalarial activity and proved to be moderately active against Plasmodium falciparum....

  11. Causative Agents of Aspergillosis Including Cryptic Aspergillus Species and A. fumigatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toyotome, Takahito

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillosis is an important deep mycosis. The causative agents are Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus terreus, of which A. fumigatus is the most prevalent. Cryptic Aspergillus spp., which morphologically resemble representative species of each Aspergillus section, also cause aspergillosis. Most of the cryptic species reveal different susceptibility patterns and/or different secondary metabolite profiles, also called exometabolome in this manuscript, from those representative species. On the other hand, azole-resistant A. fumigatus strains in clinical specimens and in the environment have been reported. Therefore, it is imperative to precisely identify the species, including cryptic Aspergillus spp., and evaluate the susceptibility of isolates.In this manuscript, some of the causative cryptic Aspergillus spp. are briefly reviewed. In addition, the exometabolome of Aspergillus section Fumigati is described. Finally, azole resistance of A. fumigatus is also discussed, in reference to several studies from Japan.

  12. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus strains in Hungarian maize fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebők, Flóra; Dobolyi, Csaba; Zágoni, Dóra; Risa, Anita; Krifaton, Csilla; Hartman, Mátyás; Cserháti, Mátyás; Szoboszlay, Sándor; Kriszt, Balázs

    2016-12-01

    Due to the climate change, aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species and strains have appeared in several European countries, contaminating different agricultural commodities with aflatoxin. Our aim was to screen the presence of aflatoxigenic fungi in maize fields throughout the seven geographic regions of Hungary. Fungi belonging to Aspergillus section Flavi were isolated in the ratio of 26.9% and 42.3% from soil and maize samples in 2013, and these ratios decreased to 16.1% and 34.7% in 2014. Based on morphological characteristics and the sequence analysis of the partial calmodulin gene, all isolates proved to be Aspergillus flavus, except four strains, which were identified as Aspergillus parasiticus. About half of the A. flavus strains and all the A. parasiticus strains were able to synthesize aflatoxins. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus strains were isolated from all the seven regions of Hungary. A. parasiticus strains were found in the soil of the regions Southern Great Plain and Southern Transdanubia and in a maize sample of the region Western Transdanubia. In spite of the fact that aflatoxins have rarely been detected in feeds and foods in Hungary, aflatoxigenic A. flavus and A. parasiticus strains are present in the maize culture throughout Hungary posing a potential threat to food safety.

  13. Aspergillus baeticus sp. nov. and Aspergillus thesauricus sp. nov., two species in section Usti from Spanish caves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nováková, Alena; Hubka, Vit; Saiz-Jimenez, Cesareo; Kolarik, Miroslav

    2012-11-01

    Two novel species of Aspergillus that are clearly distinct from all known species in section Usti were revealed during a study of microfungal communities in Spanish caves. The novel species identified in this study and additional species of Aspergillus section Usti are associated with places and substrates related to human activities in caves. Novel species are described using data from four loci (ITS, benA, caM and rpb2), morphology and basic chemical and physiological analyses. Members of the species Aspergillus thesauricus sp. nov. were isolated from various substrates, including decaying organic matter, cave air and cave sediment of the Cueva del Tesoro Cave (the Treasure cave); the species is represented by twelve isolates and is most closely related to the recently described Aspergillus germanicus. Members of the species Aspergillus baeticus sp. nov. were isolated from cave sediment in the Gruta de las Maravillas Cave (the Grotto of the Marvels); the species is represented by two isolates. An additional isolate was found in the Cueva del Tesoro Cave and in the Demänovská Peace Cave (Slovakia), suggesting a potentially wide distribution of this micro-organism. The species is related to Aspergillus ustus and Aspergillus pseudoustus. Both species were unable to grow at 37 °C, and a weakly positive, light greenish yellow Ehrlich reaction was observed in A. thesauricus. Unique morphological features alone are sufficient to distinguish both species from related taxa.

  14. Breakthrough Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans double infection during caspofungin treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, Maiken Cavling; Garcia-Effron, Guillermo; Buzina, Walter

    2009-01-01

    Caspofungin is used for the treatment of acute invasive candidiasis and as salvage treatment for invasive aspergillosis. We report characteristics of isolates of Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus detected in a patient with breakthrough infection complicating severe gastrointestinal surgery...... without FSK1 resistance mutations in liver and lung tissues. Breakthrough disseminated aspergillosis and candidiasis developed despite an absence of characteristic FKS1 resistance mutations in the Aspergillus isolates. EUCAST and CLSI methodology did not separate the candin-resistant clinical isolate from...

  15. Isolation, identification of an axenic fungal isolate of aspergillus sp. (mbl-1511) and its subsequent improvement for enhanced extracellular lipolytic potential through monoculture fermentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iftikhar, T.; Sidra, A.; Ali, M.; Majeed, H.; Abdullah, R.

    2017-01-01

    The present investigation was conducted for extracellular lipases production. One hundred and forty samples of fungi were isolated from different environment and food samples. Among all the isolated cultures, an isolate obtained from chicken roasted in oil (MBL-1511) gave the highest extracellular lipase through SSF. Hyper producer strain (MBL-1511) was morphologically identified. A morphologically identified isolate of Aspergillus niger (MBL 1511) was verified by DNA barcoding marker like 18S rRNA gene sequence. The sequence of Aspergillus niger (MBL 1511) was registered with accession no. [GenBank: KP172477] in the public nucleotide library (genbank) of NCBI. The selected hyper producer of Aspergillus niger (MBL-1511) strain was subjected to physical and chemical mutagenic treatments to improve its lipolytic potential. Proximate analysis confirmed brassica meal as the best basal substrate with the lipases potential of 10.67+-0.01 IU/mL (wild) and 19.58+-0.04 IU/mL (mutant). The optimum conditions for the maximized extracellular lipases production were 1.0 mL inoculum at 30 degree C after 72 h at pH of 6.2. Finally, a potent mutant of A. niger [MBL-1511SA-4(150 min)] with an increased activity of 161 % over the wild strain was obtained when olive oil was used at 1% (v/v) concentration. (author)

  16. Aspergillus section Fumigati typing by PCR-restriction fragment polymorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staab, Janet F; Balajee, S Arunmozhi; Marr, Kieren A

    2009-07-01

    Recent studies have shown that there are multiple clinically important members of the Aspergillus section Fumigati that are difficult to distinguish on the basis of morphological features (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus, A. lentulus, and Neosartorya udagawae). Identification of these organisms may be clinically important, as some species vary in their susceptibilities to antifungal agents. In a prior study, we utilized multilocus sequence typing to describe A. lentulus as a species distinct from A. fumigatus. The sequence data show that the gene encoding beta-tubulin, benA, has high interspecies variability at intronic regions but is conserved among isolates of the same species. These data were used to develop a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method that rapidly and accurately distinguishes A. fumigatus, A. lentulus, and N. udagawae, three major species within the section Fumigati that have previously been implicated in disease. Digestion of the benA amplicon with BccI generated unique banding patterns; the results were validated by screening a collection of clinical strains and by in silico analysis of the benA sequences of Aspergillus spp. deposited in the GenBank database. PCR-RFLP of benA is a simple method for the identification of clinically important, similar morphotypes of Aspergillus spp. within the section Fumigati.

  17. Aspergillus Section Fumigati Typing by PCR-Restriction Fragment Polymorphism▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staab, Janet F.; Balajee, S. Arunmozhi; Marr, Kieren A.

    2009-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that there are multiple clinically important members of the Aspergillus section Fumigati that are difficult to distinguish on the basis of morphological features (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus, A. lentulus, and Neosartorya udagawae). Identification of these organisms may be clinically important, as some species vary in their susceptibilities to antifungal agents. In a prior study, we utilized multilocus sequence typing to describe A. lentulus as a species distinct from A. fumigatus. The sequence data show that the gene encoding β-tubulin, benA, has high interspecies variability at intronic regions but is conserved among isolates of the same species. These data were used to develop a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method that rapidly and accurately distinguishes A. fumigatus, A. lentulus, and N. udagawae, three major species within the section Fumigati that have previously been implicated in disease. Digestion of the benA amplicon with BccI generated unique banding patterns; the results were validated by screening a collection of clinical strains and by in silico analysis of the benA sequences of Aspergillus spp. deposited in the GenBank database. PCR-RFLP of benA is a simple method for the identification of clinically important, similar morphotypes of Aspergillus spp. within the section Fumigati. PMID:19403766

  18. Atypical Aspergillus parasiticus isolates from pistachio with aflR gene nucleotide insertion identical to Aspergillus sojae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflatoxins are the most toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced primarily by the filamentous fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The toxins cause devastating economic losses because of strict regulations on distribution of contaminated products. Aspergillus sojae are...

  19. Putative Aspergillus niger-induced oxalate nephrosis in sheep : clinical communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.J. Botha

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available A sheep farmer provided a maize-based brewer's grain (mieliemaroek and bales of Eragrostis curvula hay to ewes and their lambs, kept on zero-grazing in pens. The 'mieliemaroek' was visibly mouldy. After 14 days in the feedlot, clinical signs, including generalised weakness, ataxia of the hind limbs, tremors and recumbency, were noticed. Six ewes died within a period of 7 days. A post mortem examination was performed on 1 ewe. The carcass appeared to be cachectic with mild effusions into the body cavities; mild lung congestion and pallor of the kidneys were observed. Microscopical evaluation revealed nephrosis and birefringent oxalate crystals in the renal tubules when viewed under polarised light. A provisional diagnosis of oxalate nephrosis with subsequent kidney failure was made. Amongst other fungi, Aspergillus niger was isolated from 'mieliemaroek' samples submitted for fungal culture and identification. As A. niger is known to synthesise oxalates, a qualitative screen to detect oxalic acid in the mieliemaroek and purified A. niger isolates was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. Oxalic acid was detected, which supported a diagnosis of soluble oxalate-induced nephropathy.

  20. The isolation and improvement of Aspergillus niger by radiation for higher production of citric acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radziah A; Foziah Ali; Zainab H

    2000-01-01

    Local citric acid producer of fungal strain Aspergillus niger have been successfully isolated from stale bread and onion. The isolates, designated as SB 1 and NN I showed a potential performance for citric acid production of 49% and 52% yield respectively, in shake flask studies. The strain improvement on NN1 was carried out by radiation induced mutation by gamma rays at LD 5 0 of 1.28 kGy

  1. Characterization of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat markers for Aspergillus flavus: emphasis on variability of isolates from the southern United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinwang; Wadl, Phillip A; Wood-Jones, Alicia; Windham, Gary; Trigiano, Robert N; Scruggs, Mary; Pilgrim, Candace; Baird, Richard

    2012-12-01

    Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed from Aspergillus flavus expressed sequence tag (EST) database to conduct an analysis of genetic relationships of Aspergillus isolates from numerous host species and geographical regions, but primarily from the United States. Twenty-nine primers were designed from 362 tri-nucleotide EST-SSR sequences. Eighteen polymorphic loci were used to genotype 96 Aspergillus species isolates. The number of alleles detected per locus ranged from 2 to 24 with a mean of 8.2 alleles. Haploid diversity ranged from 0.28 to 0.91. Genetic distance matrix was used to perform principal coordinates analysis (PCA) and to generate dendrograms using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). Two principal coordinates explained more than 75 % of the total variation among the isolates. One clade was identified for A. flavus isolates (n = 87) with the other Aspergillus species (n = 7) using PCA, but five distinct clusters were present when the others taxa were excluded from the analysis. Six groups were noted when the EST-SSR data were compared using UPGMA. However, the latter PCA or UPGMA comparison resulted in no direct associations with host species, geographical region or aflatoxin production. Furthermore, there was no direct correlation to visible morphological features such as sclerotial types. The isolates from Mississippi Delta region, which contained the largest percentage of isolates, did not show any unusual clustering except for isolates K32, K55, and 199. Further studies of these three isolates are warranted to evaluate their pathogenicity, aflatoxin production potential, additional gene sequences (e.g., RPB2), and morphological comparisons.

  2. A prospective survey of Aspergillus spp. in respiratory tract samples: prevalence, clinical impact and antifungal susceptibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, K L; Johansen, H K; Fuursted, Kurt

    2011-01-01

    for routine microbiologic investigation were examined for Aspergillus following routine procedures and with extended incubation (5 days). Identification was done by morphologic criteria and susceptibility testing using EUCAST method for azoles and amphotericin B E-test. Invasive aspergillosis (IA......) was evaluated using modified EORTC/MSG criteria. A total of 11,368 airway samples were received. Growth of Aspergillus spp. was found in 129 and 151 patients using routine and extended incubation, respectively. Three patients had proven IA (2%), 11 probable (7%), four had allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis...... μg/ml (3/112 A. fumigatus, 1/2 A. terreus). In conclusion, Aspergillus appears to be an important pathogen in Denmark. Elevated itraconazole MICs were detected in 4% of the isolates including a multi-azole resistant isolate....

  3. Culture-Based Methods and Molecular Tools for Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Detection in a Belgian University Hospital

    OpenAIRE

    Montesinos, I.; Argudín, M. A.; Hites, M.; Ahajjam, F.; Dodémont, M.; Dagyaran, C.; Bakkali, M.; Etienne, I.; Jacobs, F.; Knoop, C.; Patteet, S.; Lagrou, K.

    2017-01-01

    Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is an increasing worldwide problem with major clinical implications. Surveillance is warranted to guide clinicians to provide optimal treatment to patients. To investigate azole resistance in clinical Aspergillus isolates in our institution, a Belgian university hospital, we conducted a laboratory-based surveillance between June 2015 and October 2016. Two different approaches were used: a prospective culture-based surveillance using VIPcheck on unselected...

  4. Isolation, characterization and transcriptome analysis of a novel Antarctic Aspergillus sydowii strain MS-19 as a potential lignocellulosic enzyme source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Bailin; Wang, Nengfei; Liu, Shenghao; Liu, Feng; Yin, Xiaofei; Shen, Jihong

    2017-05-30

    With the growing demand for fossil fuels and the severe energy crisis, lignocellulose is widely regarded as a promising cost-effective renewable resource for ethanol production, and the use of lignocellulose residues as raw material is remarkable. Polar organisms have important value in scientific research and development for their novelty, uniqueness and diversity. In this study, a fungus Aspergillus sydowii MS-19, with the potential for lignocellulose degradation was screened out and isolated from an Antarctic region. The growth profile of Aspergillus sydowii MS-19 was measured, revealing that Aspergillus sydowii MS-19 could utilize lignin as a sole carbon source. Its ability to synthesize low-temperature lignin peroxidase (Lip) and manganese peroxidase (Mnp) enzymes was verified, and the properties of these enzymes were also investigated. High-throughput sequencing was employed to identify and characterize the transcriptome of Aspergillus sydowii MS-19. Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes (CAZyme)-annotated genes in Aspergillus sydowii MS-19 were compared with those in the brown-rot fungus representative species, Postia placenta and Penicillium decumbens. There were 701CAZymes annotated in Aspergillus sydowii MS-19, including 17 cellulases and 19 feruloyl esterases related to lignocellulose-degradation. Remarkably, one sequence annotated as laccase was obtained, which can degrade lignin. Three peroxidase sequences sharing a similar structure with typical lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase were also found and annotated as haem-binding peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase-peroxidase. In this study, the fungus Aspergillus sydowii MS-19 was isolated and shown to synthesize low-temperature lignin-degrading enzymes: lignin peroxidase (Lip) and manganese peroxidase (Mnp). These findings provide useful information to improve our understanding of low-temperature lignocellulosic enzyme production by polar microorganisms and to facilitate research and

  5. Toxigenic potentiality of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus strains isolated from black pepper assessed by an LC-MS/MS based multi-mycotoxin method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yogendrarajah, Pratheeba; Devlieghere, Frank; Njumbe Ediage, Emmanuel; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; De Meulenaer, Bruno; De Saeger, Sarah

    2015-12-01

    A liquid chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to determine mycotoxins, produced by fungal isolates grown on malt extract agar (MEA). All twenty metabolites produced by different fungal species were extracted using acetonitrile/1% formic acid. The developed method was applied to assess the toxigenic potentiality of Aspergillus flavus (n = 11) and Aspergillus parasiticus (n = 6) strains isolated from black peppers (Piper nigrum L.) following their growth at 22, 30 and 37 °C. Highest mean radial colony growth rates were observed at 30 °C for A. flavus (5.21 ± 0.68 mm/day) and A. parasiticus (4.97 ± 0.33 mm/day). All of the A. flavus isolates produced aflatoxin B1 and O-methyl sterigmatocystin (OMST) while 91% produced aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) and 82% of them produced sterigmatocystin (STERIG) at 30 °C. Except one, all the A. parasiticus isolates produced all the four aflatoxins, STERIG and OMST at 30 °C. Remarkably high AFB1 was produced by some A. flavus isolates at 22 °C (max 16-40 mg/kg). Production of mycotoxins followed a different trend than that of growth rate of both species. Notable correlations were found between different secondary metabolites of both species; R(2) 0.87 between AFB1 and AFB2 production. Occurrence of OMST could be used as a predictor for AFB1 production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Assessment of relevant fungal species in clinical solid wastes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noman, Efaq Ali; Al-Gheethi, A A; Rahman, Nik Norulaini Nik Ab; Nagao, H; Ab Kadir, M O

    2016-10-01

    The study aimed to determine the fungal diversity in clinical waste samples from a healthcare facility in Penang Malaysia. Different fungi species were detected in 83.75 % of the 92 clinical waste samples that were screened from different sections of the healthcare facility. One hundred fifty fungal isolates comprising of 8 genera and 36 species were obtained. They were purified by using single spore isolation technique. Subsequently, the isolates were identified by phenotypic method based on morphological and culture characteristics on different culture media. Among all fungal isolates, Aspergillus spp. in section Nigri 10.2 %, Aspergillus niger 9.5 %, Aspergillus fumigatus 8.8 %, Penicillium. simplicissium 8 %, Aspergillus tubingensis 7.3 %, Aspergillus terreus var. terreus 6.6 %, Penicillium waksmanii 5.9 % and Curvularia lunata 6.5 % were the most frequent. Among five sections of the Wellness Centre, the clinical wastes collected from the diagnostic labs of haematology section had the highest numbers of fungal species (29 species). Glove wastes had the highest numbers of fungal species (19 species) among 17 types of clinical wastes screened. Among all fungal species, Aspergillus spp. exhibited higher growth at 37 °C than at 28 °C, indicating the potential of these opportunistic fungi to cause diseases in human. These results indicated the potential of hospital wastes as reservoirs for fungal species.

  7. Azole-Resistance in Aspergillus terreus and Related Species: An Emerging Problem or a Rare Phenomenon?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamara Zoran

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Invasive mold infections associated with Aspergillus species are a significant cause of mortality in immunocompromised patients. The most frequently occurring aetiological pathogens are members of the Aspergillus section Fumigati followed by members of the section Terrei. The frequency of Aspergillus terreus and related (cryptic species in clinical specimens, as well as the percentage of azole-resistant strains remains to be studied.Methods: A global set (n = 498 of A. terreus and phenotypically related isolates was molecularly identified (beta-tubulin, tested for antifungal susceptibility against posaconazole, voriconazole, and itraconazole, and resistant phenotypes were correlated with point mutations in the cyp51A gene.Results: The majority of isolates was identified as A. terreus (86.8%, followed by A. citrinoterreus (8.4%, A. hortai (2.6%, A. alabamensis (1.6%, A. neoafricanus (0.2%, and A. floccosus (0.2%. One isolate failed to match a known Aspergillus sp., but was found most closely related to A. alabamensis. According to EUCAST clinical breakpoints azole resistance was detected in 5.4% of all tested isolates, 6.2% of A. terreus sensu stricto (s.s. were posaconazole-resistant. Posaconazole resistance differed geographically and ranged from 0% in the Czech Republic, Greece, and Turkey to 13.7% in Germany. In contrast, azole resistance among cryptic species was rare 2 out of 66 isolates and was observed only in one A. citrinoterreus and one A. alabamensis isolate. The most affected amino acid position of the Cyp51A gene correlating with the posaconazole resistant phenotype was M217, which was found in the variation M217T and M217V.Conclusions:Aspergillus terreus was most prevalent, followed by A. citrinoterreus. Posaconazole was the most potent drug against A. terreus, but 5.4% of A. terreus sensu stricto showed resistance against this azole. In Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom posaconazole-resistance in all A. terreus

  8. Aspergillus waksmanii sp. nov. and Aspergillus marvanovae sp. nov., two closely related species in section Fumigati

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hubka, Vit; Peterson, Stephen W.; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2013-01-01

    Two new and phylogenetically closely related species in Aspergillus section Fumigati are described and illustrated. Homothallic Aspergillus waksmanii sp. nov. was isolated from New Jersey soil (USA) and is represented by the ex-type isolate NRRL 179T (=CCF 4266T=Thom 4138.HS2T=IBT 31900T......). Aspergillus marvanovae sp. nov. was isolated from water with high boracic acid anions content in Dukovany nuclear power station (Czech Republic). The sexual stage of this species is unknown, but the MAT1-1 locus was successfully amplified suggesting that the species is probably heterothallic and teleomorphic...... but is represented by only the ex-type isolate CCM 8003T (=CCF 4037T=NRRL 62486T=IBT 31279T=IFM 60873T). Both species can be distinguished from all previously described species in section Fumigati based on morphology, maximum growth temperature, sequence data from five unlinked loci and unique secondary metabolites...

  9. Molecular identification of Aspergillus spp. isolated from coffee beans Identificação molecular de Aspergillus spp. isolados de grãos de café

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marciane Magnani

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Some species belonging to the genus Aspergillus are potential producers of ochratoxin A (OA, a mycotoxin with nephrotoxic, immunosuppressive, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects. The aim of the present study was to identify the species of Aspergillus that contaminate the inside of coffee beans collected in the stage of maturation and drying, from 16 producing areas located in the northern region of the State of Paraná, in the South of Brazil. A total of 108 isolates of Aspergillus spp. was identified at the species level, by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 of ribosomal DNA (rDNA. The results revealed the presence of potentially ochratoxigenic species in 82% of the geographic regions studied, among which Aspergillus niger was the species most frequently detected, followed by A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius. The presence of A. carbonarius in immature coffee fruits harvested from trees is reported for the first time.Algumas espécies pertencentes ao gênero Aspergillus possuem potencial para produção de Ocratoxina A (OA, uma micotoxina de efeitos nefrotóxicos, imunossupressivos, teratogênicos e carcinogênicos. Com o objetivo de identificar as espécies de Aspergillus que contaminam o interior de grãos de café, foram coletadas amostras em diferentes estádios de maturação do produto, em 16 propriedades produtoras do norte do estado do Paraná. Um total de 108 isolados de Aspergillus spp. foram identificados ao nível de espécie, pelo sequenciamento dos espaços internos transcritos (ITS1-5,8S-ITS2 do DNA ribossomal (rDNA. Os resultados revelaram a presença de espécies potencialmente ocratoxigênicas em 82% das regiões analisadas, sendo dentre estas, Aspergillus niger a espécie mais freqüentemente detectada,seguida por A. ochraceus, e A. carbonarius. É relatada pela primeira vez a presença de A. carbonarius em frutos de café coletados na árvore.

  10. Polyphasic identification of Aspergillus isolates belonging to section Nigri with clinical relevance

    OpenAIRE

    Maciel, Marília; Santos, Cledir; Lima, Nelson; Souza-Motta, Cristina Maria

    2012-01-01

    Aspergillosis is the name of a group of diseases in humans and animals caused by opportunist moulds of the genus Aspergillus. The vast majority of infections are caused by A. fumigatus, followed by other species such as A. flavus, A. terreus and A. niger. Among the pulmonary infection, aspergillosis is gaining prominent position not only in immunocompromised patients, but also in immunosuppressed. The absence of a reliable fungal identification system affects the control of ...

  11. Antifungal activity of lemon, eucalyptus, thyme, oregano, sage and lavender essential oils against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tubingensis isolated from grapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miroslava Císarová

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Today, it is very important to find out the protection of products of natural origin as an alternative to synthetic fungicides. The promising alternative is the use of the essential oils (EOs. Essential oils from plants have great potential as a new source of fungicide to control the pathogenic fungi.The main objective of this study was evaluation of the antifungal activity of lemon (Citrus lemon L., eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus LABILL., thyme (Thymus vulgaris L., oregano (Origanum vulgare L. sage (Salvia officinalis L. and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia MILLER. EOs against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tubingensis isolated from grapes and their ability to affect the growth. It was tested by using the vapor contact with them. At first both tested isolates were identified by using PCR method. Sequence data of 18S rRNA supported the assignment of these isolates to the genus Aspergillus and species A. niger (ITS region: KT824061; RPB2: KT824060 and A. tubingensis (ITS region: KT824062; RPB2: KT824059. Second, EO antifungal activity was evaluated. The effect of the EO volatile phase was confirmed to inhibit growth of A. niger and A tubingensis. EOs were diluted in DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide final volume of 100 μL. Only 50 μL this solution was distributed on a round sterile filter paper (1 x 1 cm by micropipette, and the paper was placed in the center of the lid of Petri dishes. Dishes were kept in an inverted position. The essential oils with the most significant activity were determined by method of graded concentration of oils - minimum inhibitory doses (MIDs. The most effective tested EOs were oregano and thyme oils, which totally inhibited growth of tested isolates for all days of incubation at 0.625 μL.cm-3 (in air with MFDs 0.125 μL.cm-3 (in air. Lavender EO was less active aginst tested strains (MIDs 0.313 μL.cm-3. The results showed that the tested EOs had antifungal activity, except lemon and eucalyptus. Sage EO was the only

  12. A Rare Cause of Headache: Aspergillus Sinusitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şehnaz Arıcı

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Fungal sinusitis are mostly seen in immunosuppressive individuals and somtimes which can be mortal. Most frequently species of Aspergillus were isolated from, clinical forms of mycotic sinonasal disease.Surgical debridement,sinus ventilation and medical therapy in treatment of fungal sinusitis, are recommended. In this article, a case of healthy immune patient with fungal sinusitis who peresent with headache was repoted.

  13. Molecular epidemiology and virulence assessment of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from white stork chicks and their environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olias, Philipp; Gruber, Achim D; Hafez, Hafez M; Lierz, Michael; Slesiona, Silvia; Brock, Matthias; Jacobsen, Ilse D

    2011-03-24

    Aspergillus fumigatus is a common pathogen in poultry and captive wild birds and an emerging opportunistic fungal pathogen in immunocompromised humans. Although invasive aspergillosis is frequently reported in free-ranging wild birds, the incidence and epidemiology of the disease in a natural setting is unknown. We recently reported endemic outbreaks of invasive aspergillosis at white stork nesting sites close to human habitation in Germany with significant subsequent breeding losses. Therefore, we hypothesized that A. fumigatus strains with higher virulence in birds may have evolved in this environment and performed the first epidemiological analysis of invasive aspergillosis in free-ranging wild birds. Sixty-one clinical and environmental A. fumigatus isolates from six affected nesting sites were genotyped by microsatellite analysis using the STRAf-assay. The isolates showed a remarkable high genomic diversity and, contrary to the initial hypothesis, clinical and environmental isolates did not cluster significantly. Interestingly, storks were infected with two to four different genotypes and in most cases both mating types MAT-1.1 and MAT-1.2 were present within the same specimen. The majority of selected clinical and environmental strains exhibited similar virulence in an in vivo infection model using embryonated chicken eggs. Noteworthy, virulence was not associated with one distinct fungal mating type. These results further support the assumption that the majority of A. fumigatus strains have the potential to cause disease in susceptible hosts. In white storks, immaturity of the immune system during the first three weeks of age may enhance susceptibility to invasive aspergillosis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Chemical constituents of Aspergillus sp EJC08 isolated as endophyte from Bauhinia guianensis and their antimicrobial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinheiro, Eduardo A A; Carvalho, Josiwander M; Santos, Diellem C P dos; Feitosa, André O; Marinho, Patrícia S B; Guilhon, Giselle Maria S P; Santos, Lourivaldo S; Souza, Afonso L D de; Marinho, Andrey M R

    2013-01-01

    The present work reports the isolation of five compounds from Aspergillus sp EJC08 isolated as endophytic from Bauhinia guianensis, a tipical plant of the Amazon. The compounds ergosterol (1), ergosterol peroxide (2), mevalolactone (3), monomethylsulochrin (4) and trypacidin A (5) were isolated by chromatographic procedures and identified by spectral methods of 1D and 2D NMR and MS. Compounds 3, 4 and 5 were tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus and showed good activity.

  15. First Report of an Atypical New Aspergillus parasiticus Isolates with Nucleotides Insertion in aflR Gene Identical to Aspergillus sojae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced primarily by the filamentous fungi Aspergillus favus and Aspergillus parasitic and cause toxin contamination in food chain worldwide. Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae are highly valued as koji molds in the traditional prep...

  16. Discrimination of Aspergillus lentulus from Aspergillus fumigatus by Raman spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verwer, P E B; van Leeuwen, W B; Girard, V; Monnin, V; van Belkum, A; Staab, J F; Verbrugh, H A; Bakker-Woudenberg, I A J M; van de Sande, W W J

    2014-02-01

    In 2005, a new sibling species of Aspergillus fumigatus was discovered: Aspergillus lentulus. Both species can cause invasive fungal disease in immune-compromised patients. The species are morphologically very similar. Current techniques for identification are PCR-based or morphology-based. These techniques are labour-intense and not sufficiently discriminatory. Since A. lentulus is less susceptible to several antifungal agents, it is important to correctly identify the causative infectious agent in order to optimize antifungal therapy. In this study we determined whether Raman spectroscopy and/or MALDI-TOF MS were able to differentiate between A. lentulus and A. fumigatus. For 16 isolates of A. lentulus and 16 isolates of A. fumigatus, Raman spectra and peptide profiles were obtained using the Spectracell and MALDI-TOF MS (VITEK MS RUO, bioMérieux) respectively. In order to obtain reliable Raman spectra for A. fumigatus and A. lentulus, the culture medium needed to be adjusted to obtain colourless conidia. Only Raman spectra obtained from colourless conidia were reproducible and correctly identified 25 out of 32 (78 %) of the Aspergillus strains. For VITEK MS RUO, no medium adjustments were necessary. Pigmented conidia resulted in reproducible peptide profiles as well in this case. VITEK MS RUO correctly identified 100 % of the Aspergillus isolates, within a timeframe of approximately 54 h including culture. Of the two techniques studied here, VITEK MS RUO was superior to Raman spectroscopy in the discrimination of A. lentulus from A. fumigatus. VITEK MS RUO seems to be a successful technique in the daily identification of Aspergillus spp. within a limited timeframe.

  17. Morphological Characterization and Determination of Aflatoxin-Production Potentials of Aspergillus flavus Isolated from Maize and Soil in Kenya

    OpenAIRE

    Matome Gabriel Thathana; Hunja Murage; Akebe Luther King Abia; Michael Pillay

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed at morphologically identifying Aspergillus flavus in soil and maize and at determining their aflatoxin-producing potentials. Five hundred and fourteen isolates obtained from maize and soil in Kenya were cultivated on Czapeck Dox Agar, Malt Extract Agar, Sabouraud Dextrose Agar, Potato Dextrose Agar, and Rose-Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar. Isolates were identified using macro-morphological characteristics. Micromorphological characteristics were determined using slide cultures. ...

  18. Use of a repetitive DNA probe to type clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus flavus from a cluster of cutaneous infections in a neonatal intensive care unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, M J; Lasker, B A; McNeil, M M; Shelton, M; Warnock, D W; Reiss, E

    2000-10-01

    Aspergillus flavus is second to A. fumigatus as a cause of invasive aspergillosis, but no standard method exists for molecular typing of strains from human sources. A repetitive DNA sequence cloned from A. flavus and subcloned into a pUC19 vector, pAF28, was used to type 18 isolates from diverse clinical, environmental, and geographic sources. The restriction fragment length polymorphisms generated with EcoRI- or PstI-digested genomic DNA and probed with digoxigenin-labeled pAF28 revealed complete concordance between patterns. Eighteen distinct fingerprints were observed. The probe was used to investigate two cases of cutaneous A. flavus infection in low-birth-weight infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Both infants were transported by the same ambulance and crew to the NICU on the same day. A. flavus strains of the same genotype were isolated from both infants, from a roll of tape used to fasten their umbilical catheters, from a canvas bag used to store the tape in the ambulance, and from the tape tray in the ambulance isolette. These cases highlight the need to consider exposures in critically ill neonates that might occur during their transport to the NICU and for stringent infection control practices. The hybridization profiles of strains from a second cluster of invasive A. flavus infections in two pediatric hematology-oncology patients revealed a genotype common to strains from a definite case patient and a health care worker. A probable case patient was infected with a strain with a genotype different from that of the strain from the definite case patient but highly related to that of an environmental isolate. The high degree of discrimination and reproducibility obtained with the pAF28 probe underscores its utility for typing clinical and environmental isolates of A. flavus.

  19. Isolation of Notoamide S and Enantiomeric 6-epi-Stephacidin A from the Fungus Aspergillus amoenus: Biogenetic Implications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kato, Hikaru; Nakahara, Takashi; Sugimoto, Kayo

    2015-01-01

    Notoamide S has been hypothesized to be a key biosynthetic intermediate for characteristic metabolites stephacidin A, notoamide B, and versicolamide B in Aspergillus sp. but has not yet been isolated. The isolation of notoamide S and an enantiomeric mixture of 6-epi-stephacidin A enriched with th...

  20. Isolation and NMR Characterization of Fumonisin B-2 and a New Fumonisin B-6 from Aspergillus niger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Månsson, Maria; Klejnstrup, Marie Louise; Phipps, Richard Kerry

    2010-01-01

    A new fumonisin, fumonisin B-6 (1), has been isolated by cation-exchange and reverse-phase chromatography, together with fumonisin B-2 (2), from,stationary cultures of the fungus Aspergillus niger NRRL 326. Analysis of mass spectrometric and NMR data determined that FB6 is a positional isomer...

  1. Diversity of black Aspergilli isolated from raisins in Argentina: Polyphasic approach to species identification and development of SCAR markers for Aspergillus ibericus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giaj Merlera, G; Muñoz, S; Coelho, I; Cavaglieri, L R; Torres, A M; Reynoso, M M

    2015-10-01

    Aspergillus section Nigri is a heterogeneous fungal group including some ochratoxin A producer species that usually contaminate raisins. The section contains the Series Carbonaria which includes the toxigenic species Aspergillus carbonarius and nontoxigenic Aspergillus ibericus that are phenotypically undistinguishable. The aim of this study was to examine the diversity of black aspergilli isolated from raisins and to develop a specific genetic marker to distinguish A. ibericus from A. carbonarius. The species most frequently found in raisins in this study were Aspergillus tubingensis (35.4%) and A. carbonarius (32.3%), followed by Aspergillus luchuensis (10.7%), Aspergillus japonicus (7.7%), Aspergillus niger (6.2%), Aspergillus welwitschiae (4.6%) and A. ibericus (3.1%). Based on inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) fingerprinting profiles of major Aspergillus section Nigri members, a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker was identified. Primers were designed based on the conserved regions of the SCAR marker and were utilized in a PCR for simultaneous identification of A. carbonarius and A. ibericus. The detection level of the SCAR-PCR was found to be 0.01 ng of purified DNA. The present SCAR-PCR is rapid and less cumbersome than conventional identification techniques and could be a supplementary strategy and a reliable tool for high-throughput sample analysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Characterization of Aspergillus species associated with ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    About 82 triphala powder samples were analyzed for the association of different fungi. Results reveal the predominance of Aspergillus as the major genera with six predominant species namely, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. terreus, A. nidulans and A. amstelodami. Therefore, these six isolated Aspergillus species were ...

  3. Aspergillus arthritis: analysis of clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of 31 reported cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamaletsou, Maria N; Rammaert, Blandine; Bueno, Marimelle A; Sipsas, Nikolaos V; Moriyama, Brad; Kontoyiannis, Dimitrios P; Roilides, Emmanuel; Zeller, Valerie; Taj-Aldeen, Saad J; Henry, Michael; Petraitis, Vidmantas; Denning, David W; Lortholary, Olivier; Walsh, Thomas J

    2017-04-01

    Aspergillus arthritis is a debilitating form of invasive aspergillosis. Little is known about its epidemiology, clinical manifestations, laboratory features, treatment, and prognosis. Cases of Aspergillus arthritis were reviewed in the English literature from 1967 through 2015 for variables of arthritis with Aspergillus spp. recovered from joint and/or adjacent bone, underlying conditions, symptoms, signs, inflammatory biomarkers, diagnostic imaging, management, and outcome. Among 31 evaluable cases, 87% were males and 13% pediatric. Median age was 50 y (range 1-83 y). Seventeen (55%) patients were immunosuppressed with such conditions as hematological malignancies (26%), corticosteroids (39%), and/or transplantation (26%). Approximately one-half (52%) of patients had hematogenous seeding of the joint, and more than 80% had de novo infection with no prior antifungal therapy. Oligoarticular infection (2-3 joints) occurred in 45% and contiguous osteomyelitis was present in 61%. Clinical manifestations included pain (87%), edema (26%), and limited function (23%), with knees (35%), intervertebral discs (26%), and hips (16%) being most commonly infected. Aspergillus fumigatus constituted 77% of cases followed by Aspergillus flavus in 13%, Aspergillus niger in 3%, and not specified in 7%. Median ESR was 90 mm/hr and median CRP was 3.6 mg/dl. Median synovial fluid WBC was 17,200/μL (7,300-128,000) with 72% PMNs (range 61-92). Osteolysis occurred in 35%, and soft-tissue extension 47%. Nineteen patients (61%) were managed with combined medical and surgical therapy, 10 (32%) with medical therapy only, and 2 (6%) surgery only. Amphotericin B and itraconazole were the most frequently used agents with median duration of therapy of 219 days (range 30-545). Surgical interventions included debridement in 61%, drainage 19%, and amputation 6%. Complete or partial response was achieved in 71% and relapse occurred in 16%. Medical therapy was reinstituted with successful outcome in

  4. Aspergillus oerlinghausenensis, a new mould species closely related to A. fumigatus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houbraken, Jos; Weig, Michael; Groß, Uwe; Meijer, Martin; Bader, Oliver

    2015-01-01

    Two isolates belonging to Aspergillus section Fumigati were recovered from German soil on itraconazole containing agar media. Phylogenetic analysis and phenotypic characterization of both isolates show that they represent a novel species named Aspergillus oerlinghausenensis (holotype CBS

  5. Molecular epidemiology of Aspergillus collected from cystic fibrosis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabino, Raquel; Ferreira, Jose A G; Moss, Richard B; Valente, Joana; Veríssimo, Cristina; Carolino, Elisabete; Clemons, Karl V; Everson, Cassie; Banaei, Niaz; Penner, John; Stevens, David A

    2015-07-01

    Aspergillus respiratory infection is a common complication in cystic fibrosis (CF) and is associated with loss of pulmonary function and allergic disease. Fifty-three Aspergillus isolates recovered from CF patients were identified to species by Internal Transcribed Spacer Region (ITS), β-tubulin, and calmodulin sequencing. Three species complexes (Terrei, Nigri, and Fumigati) were found. Identification to species level gave a single Aspergillus terreus sensu stricto, one Aspergillus niger sensu stricto and 51 Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto isolates. No cryptic species were found. To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study of Aspergillus species in CF using molecular methods. The paucity of non-A. fumigatus and of cryptic species of A. fumigatus suggests a special association of A. fumigatus sensu stricto with CF airways, indicating it likely displays unique characteristics making it suitable for chronic residence in that milieu. These findings could refine an epidemiologic and therapeutic approach geared to this pathogen. Copyright © 2014 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Aspergillus otitis in small animals--a retrospective study of 17 cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodale, Elizabeth C; Outerbridge, Catherine A; White, Stephen D

    2016-02-01

    Aspergillus spp. are saprophytic opportunistic fungal organisms and are a common cause of otomycosis in humans. Although there have been case reports of Aspergillus otitis externa in dogs, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first retrospective case series describing Aspergillus otitis in dogs and cats. To characterize signalment, putative risk factors, treatments and outcomes of a case series of dogs and cats with Aspergillus otitis. Eight dogs and nine cats diagnosed with Aspergillus otitis. A retrospective review of medical records from 1989 to 2014 identified animals diagnosed with Aspergillus otitis based on culture. All dogs weighed greater than 23 kg. The most common putative risk factors identified in this study were concurrent diseases, therapy causing immunosuppression or a history of an otic foreign body. Aspergillus otitis was unilateral in all study dogs and most cats. Concurrent otitis media was confirmed in three dogs and one cat, and suspected in two additional cats. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most common isolate overall and was the dominant isolate in cats. Aspergillus niger and A. terreus were more commonly isolated from dogs. Animals received various topical and systemic antifungal medications; however, otic lavage under anaesthesia and/or surgical intervention increased the likelihood of resolution of the fungal infection. Aspergillus otitis is uncommon, typically seen as unilateral otitis externa in cats and larger breed dogs with possible risk factors that include immunosuppression and otic foreign bodies; previous antibiotic usage was common. © 2015 ESVD and ACVD.

  7. Cr(VI) reduction from contaminated soils by Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 isolated from chromium deposits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuda, Tsubasa; Ishino, Yasuhiro; Ogawa, Akane; Tsutsumi, Kadzuyo; Morita, Hiroshi

    2008-10-01

    Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 are chromate-resistant filamentous fungi that were isolated from Cr(VI) contaminated soil based on their ability to decrease hexavalent chromium levels in the growth medium. After 120 h of growth in a medium containing 50 ppm Cr(VI) at near neutral pH, Aspergillus sp. N2 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration by about 75%. Penicillium sp. N3 was able to reduce the Cr(VI) concentration by only 35%. However, Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration in the medium by 93% under acidic conditions. Interestingly, the presence of Cu(II) enhanced the Cr(VI) reducing ability of Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 at near neutral pH. Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration in the growth medium to a virtually undetectable level within 120 h. For both Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3, mycelial seed cultures were more efficient at Cr(VI) reduction than conidium seed cultures. The mechanisms of Cr(VI) reduction in Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 were enzymatic reduction and sorption to mycelia. Enzymatic activity contributed significantly to Cr(VI) reduction. Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the levels of Cr(VI) in polluted soil samples, suggesting that these strains might be useful for cleaning up chromium-contaminated sites.

  8. Extracellular Xylanolytic and Pectinolytic Hydrolase Production by Aspergillus flavus Isolates Contributes to Crop Invasion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay E. Mellon

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Several atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus isolates, including some being used as biocontrol agents, and one toxigenic isolate were surveyed for the ability to produce extracellular xylanolytic and pectinolytic hydrolases. All of the tested isolates displayed good production of endoxylanases when grown on a medium utilizing larch xylan as a sole carbon substrate. Four of the tested isolates produced reasonably high levels of esterase activity, while the atoxigenic biocontrol agent NRRL 21882 isolate esterase level was significantly lower than the others. Atoxigenic A. flavus isolates 19, 22, K49, AF36 (the latter two are biocontrol agents and toxigenic AF13 produced copious levels of pectinolytic activity when grown on a pectin medium. The pectinolytic activity levels of the atoxigenic A. flavus 17 and NRRL 21882 isolates were significantly lower than the other tested isolates. In addition, A. flavus isolates that displayed high levels of pectinolytic activity in the plate assay produced high levels of endopolygalacturonase (pectinase P2c, as ascertained by isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. Isolate NRRL 21882 displayed low levels of both pectinase P2c and pectin methyl esterase. A. flavus appears capable of producing these hydrolytic enzymes irrespective of aflatoxin production. This ability of atoxigenic isolates to produce xylanolytic and pectinolytic hydrolases mimics that of toxigenic isolates and, therefore, contributes to the ability of atoxigenic isolates to occupy the same niche as A. flavus toxigenic isolates.

  9. Data set for the mass spectrometry based exoproteome analysis of Aspergillus flavus isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramu Muthu Selvam

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus flavus is one of the predominant causative organisms of mycotic keratitis in tropical parts of the world. Extracellular proteins are the earliest proteins that come in contact with the host and have a role in the infection process. Exoproteins of A. flavus isolated from infected cornea, sputum and a saprophyte were pooled and identified using high resolution mass spectrometry in order to get the total exoproteome from cultures isolated from different sources. A total of 637 proteins was identified from the pooled A. flavus exoproteome. Analysis based on GO annotations of the 637 identified proteins revealed that hydrolases form the predominant class of proteins in the exoproteome. Interestingly, a greater proportion of the exoproteins seem to be secreted through the non-classical pathways. This data represent the first in-depth analysis of the representative A. flavus exoproteome of a large set of isolates from distinct sources. This data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001296.

  10. Expression of Aspergillus hemoglobin domain activities in Aspergillus oryzae grown on solid substrates improves growth rate and enzyme production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biesebeke, te R.; Boussier, A.; Biezen van, N.; Braaksma, M.; Hondel, van den C.A.M.J.J.; Vos, de W.M.; Punt, P.J.

    2006-01-01

    DNA fragments coding for hemoglobin domains (HBD) were isolated from Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger. The HBD activities were expressed in A. oryzae by introduction of HBD gene fragments under the control of the promoter of the constitutively expressed gpdA gene. In the transformants,

  11. Characterization and biological treatment of colored textile wastewaters from the typical Tunisian hat Chechia dyeing using newly isolated Aspergillus niger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hajer Barouni

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to characterize and investigate, for the first time, the treatment of real colored wastewaters from the artisanal dyeing of the typical Tunisian hat Chechia, using a newly isolated fungal strain. This textile effluent was a mixture called Mix of colored wastewaters from the three main types of Chechia. The major pollutant of the Mix was the toxic Azo dye Amaranth Acid or Acid Red 27. The fungal strain that made the cleanup was discovered in a Chechia dyeing wastewater’s container and identified by ITS rDNA gene sequencing. This isolated Aspergillus niger showed interesting performances on the demonstration of Chechia wastewater’s biodegradation in batch cultures. In order to understand the effect of agitation, Mix dilution and inoculum size on decolourisation and pollution removal, a full factorial experimental design 23 was set up. At the optimal conditions which were 20% inoculum size, 25% Chechia Mix dilution and an agitation of 100 rpm, Aspergillus niger was able to remove color as high as 70.18±2.84% at an initial dye concentration of 1346.6±0.01 mg/L, and to reduce COD to 74.17±14.52% at an initial COD of 4157±422 mg/L. FT-IR spectra analysis confirmed the decolourisation by biodegradation and transformation of the dyes. The treatment by the isolated Aspergillus niger could be successfully applied as a sustainable method to solve one of handicraft dyeing plants environmental management issues.

  12. Aspergillus niger contains the cryptic phylogenetic species A. awamori.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrone, Giancarlo; Stea, Gaetano; Epifani, Filomena; Varga, János; Frisvad, Jens C; Samson, Robert A

    2011-11-01

    Aspergillus section Nigri is an important group of species for food and medical mycology, and biotechnology. The Aspergillus niger 'aggregate' represents its most complicated taxonomic subgroup containing eight morphologically indistinguishable taxa: A. niger, Aspergillus tubingensis, Aspergillus acidus, Aspergillus brasiliensis, Aspergillus costaricaensis, Aspergillus lacticoffeatus, Aspergillus piperis, and Aspergillus vadensis. Aspergillus awamori, first described by Nakazawa, has been compared taxonomically with other black aspergilli and recently it has been treated as a synonym of A. niger. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences generated from portions of three genes coding for the proteins β-tubulin (benA), calmodulin (CaM), and the translation elongation factor-1 alpha (TEF-1α) of a population of A. niger strains isolated from grapes in Europe revealed the presence of a cryptic phylogenetic species within this population, A. awamori. Morphological, physiological, ecological and chemical data overlap occurred between A. niger and the cryptic A. awamori, however the splitting of these two species was also supported by AFLP analysis of the full genome. Isolates in both phylospecies can produce the mycotoxins ochratoxin A and fumonisin B₂, and they also share the production of pyranonigrin A, tensidol B, funalenone, malformins, and naphtho-γ-pyrones. In addition, sequence analysis of four putative A. awamori strains from Japan, used in the koji industrial fermentation, revealed that none of these strains belong to the A. awamori phylospecies. Copyright © 2011 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Evaluation of the Bruker Biotyper Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System for Identification of Aspergillus Species Directly from Growth on Solid Agar Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Li

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We evaluated the accuracy of the Bruker Biotyper matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS system at identifying clinical isolates of Aspergillus species that were grown on agar media. A total of 381 non-duplicate Aspergillus isolates representing 21 different Aspergillus species identified by molecular analysis were included in this study. The Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system was able to identify 30.2% (115/381 of the isolates to the species level (score values of ≥2.000 and 49.3% to the genus level (score values of 1.700–1.999. When the identification cutoff value was lowered from ≥2.000 to ≥1.700, the species-level identification rate increased to 79.5% with a slight rise of false identification from 2.6 to 5.0%. From another aspect, a correct species-level identification rate of 89% could be reached by the Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system regardless of the score values obtained. The Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system had a moderate performance in identification of Aspergillus directly inoculated on solid agar media. Continued expansion of the Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS database and adoption of alternative cutoff values for interpretation are required to improve the performance of the system for identifying highly diverse species of clinically encountered Aspergillus isolates.

  14. Evaluation of the Bruker Biotyper Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System for Identification of Aspergillus Species Directly from Growth on Solid Agar Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ying; Wang, He; Zhao, Yu-Pei; Xu, Ying-Chun; Hsueh, Po-Ren

    2017-01-01

    We evaluated the accuracy of the Bruker Biotyper matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) system at identifying clinical isolates of Aspergillus species that were grown on agar media. A total of 381 non-duplicate Aspergillus isolates representing 21 different Aspergillus species identified by molecular analysis were included in this study. The Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system was able to identify 30.2% (115/381) of the isolates to the species level (score values of ≥2.000) and 49.3% to the genus level (score values of 1.700-1.999). When the identification cutoff value was lowered from ≥2.000 to ≥1.700, the species-level identification rate increased to 79.5% with a slight rise of false identification from 2.6 to 5.0%. From another aspect, a correct species-level identification rate of 89% could be reached by the Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system regardless of the score values obtained. The Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS system had a moderate performance in identification of Aspergillus directly inoculated on solid agar media. Continued expansion of the Bruker Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS database and adoption of alternative cutoff values for interpretation are required to improve the performance of the system for identifying highly diverse species of clinically encountered Aspergillus isolates.

  15. Free chlorine and monochloramine inactivation kinetics of Aspergillus and Penicillium in drinking water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiao; Bibby, Kyle

    2017-09-01

    Fungi are near-ubiquitous in potable water distribution systems, but the disinfection kinetics of commonly identified fungi are poorly studied. In the present study, laboratory scale experiments were conducted to evaluate the inactivation kinetics of Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus versicolor, and Penicillium purpurogenum by free chlorine and monochloramine. The observed inactivation data were then fit to a delayed Chick-Watson model. Based on the model parameter estimation, the Ct values (integrated product of disinfectant concentration C and contact time t over defined time intervals) for 99.9% inactivation of the tested fungal strains ranged from 48.99 mg min/L to 194.7 mg min/L for free chlorine and from 90.33 mg min/L to 531.3 mg min/L for monochloramine. Fungal isolates from a drinking water system (Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium purpurogenum) were more disinfection resistant than Aspergillus fumigatus type and clinical isolates. The required 99.9% inactivation Ct values for the tested fungal strains are higher than E. coli, a commonly monitored indicator bacteria, and within a similar range for bacteria commonly identified within water distribution systems, such as Mycobacterium spp. and Legionella spp. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Simultaneous detection and identification of Aspergillus and mucorales species in tissues collected from patients with fungal rhinosinusitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zuotao; Li, Lili; Wan, Zhe; Chen, Wei; Liu, Honggang; Li, Ruoyu

    2011-04-01

    Rapid detection and differentiation of Aspergillus and Mucorales species in fungal rhinosinusitis diagnosis are desirable, since the clinical management and prognosis associated with the two taxa are fundamentally different. We describe an assay based on a combination of broad-range PCR amplification and reverse line blot hybridization (PCR/RLB) to detect and differentiate the pathogens causing fungal rhinosinusitis, which include five Aspergillus species (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, and A. nidulans) and seven Mucorales species (Mucor heimalis, Mucor racemosus, Mucor cercinelloidea, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus microsporus, Rhizomucor pusillus, and Absidia corymbifera). The assay was validated with 98 well-characterized clinical isolates and 41 clinical tissue specimens. PCR/RLB showed high sensitivity and specificity, with 100% correct identifications of 98 clinical isolates and no cross-hybridization between the species-specific probes. Results for five control isolates, Candida albicans, Fusarium solani, Scedosporium apiospermum, Penicillium marneffei, and Exophiala verrucosa, were negative as judged by PCR/RLB. The analytical sensitivity of PCR/RLB was found to be 1.8 × 10(-3) ng/μl by 10-fold serial dilution of Aspergillus genomic DNA. The assay identified 35 of 41 (85.4%) clinical specimens, exhibiting a higher sensitivity than fungal culture (22 of 41; 53.7%) and direct sequencing (18 of 41; 43.9%). PCR/RLB similarly showed high specificity, with correct identification 16 of 18 specimens detected by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing and 16 of 22 detected by fungal culture, but it also has the additional advantage of being able to detect mixed infection in a single clinical specimen. The PCR/RLB assay thus provides a rapid and reliable option for laboratory diagnosis of fungal rhinosinusitis.

  17. Simultaneous Detection and Identification of Aspergillus and Mucorales Species in Tissues Collected from Patients with Fungal Rhinosinusitis▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zuotao; Li, Lili; Wan, Zhe; Chen, Wei; Liu, Honggang; Li, Ruoyu

    2011-01-01

    Rapid detection and differentiation of Aspergillus and Mucorales species in fungal rhinosinusitis diagnosis are desirable, since the clinical management and prognosis associated with the two taxa are fundamentally different. We describe an assay based on a combination of broad-range PCR amplification and reverse line blot hybridization (PCR/RLB) to detect and differentiate the pathogens causing fungal rhinosinusitis, which include five Aspergillus species (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, and A. nidulans) and seven Mucorales species (Mucor heimalis, Mucor racemosus, Mucor cercinelloidea, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus microsporus, Rhizomucor pusillus, and Absidia corymbifera). The assay was validated with 98 well-characterized clinical isolates and 41 clinical tissue specimens. PCR/RLB showed high sensitivity and specificity, with 100% correct identifications of 98 clinical isolates and no cross-hybridization between the species-specific probes. Results for five control isolates, Candida albicans, Fusarium solani, Scedosporium apiospermum, Penicillium marneffei, and Exophiala verrucosa, were negative as judged by PCR/RLB. The analytical sensitivity of PCR/RLB was found to be 1.8 × 10−3 ng/μl by 10-fold serial dilution of Aspergillus genomic DNA. The assay identified 35 of 41 (85.4%) clinical specimens, exhibiting a higher sensitivity than fungal culture (22 of 41; 53.7%) and direct sequencing (18 of 41; 43.9%). PCR/RLB similarly showed high specificity, with correct identification 16 of 18 specimens detected by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing and 16 of 22 detected by fungal culture, but it also has the additional advantage of being able to detect mixed infection in a single clinical specimen. The PCR/RLB assay thus provides a rapid and reliable option for laboratory diagnosis of fungal rhinosinusitis. PMID:21325541

  18. Immobilization of Isolated Lipase From Moldy Copra (Aspergillus Oryzae)

    OpenAIRE

    Dali, Seniwati; Patong, A. B. D. Rauf; Jalaluddin, M. Noor; Pirman; Hamzah, Baharuddin

    2011-01-01

    Enzyme immobilization is a recovery technique that has been studied in several years, using support as a media to help enzyme dissolutions to the reaction substrate. Immobilization method used in this study was adsorption method, using specific lipase from Aspergillus oryzae. Lipase was partially purified from the culture supernatant of Aspergillus oryzae. Enzyme was immobilized by adsorbed on silica gel. Studies on free and immobilized lipase systems for determination of optimum pH, optimum ...

  19. New and revisited species in Aspergillus section Nigri

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Varga, J.; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Kocsube, S.

    2011-01-01

    based on either beta-tubulin or calmodulin sequence data. Aspergillus eucalypticola produced pyranonigrin A, funalenone, aurasperone B and other naphtho-gamma-pyrones. Aspergillus neoniger is also a biseriate species isolated from desert sand in Namibia, and mangrove water in Venezuela, which produces...

  20. Optimal pcr primers for rapid and accurate detection of Aspergillus flavus isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shuhaib, Mohammed Baqur S; Albakri, Ali H; Alwan, Sabah H; Almandil, Noor B; AbdulAzeez, Sayed; Borgio, J Francis

    2018-03-01

    Aspergillus flavus is among the most devastating opportunistic pathogens of several food crops including rice, due to its high production of carcinogenic aflatoxins. The presence of these organisms in economically important rice strip farming is a serious food safety concern. Several polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers have been designed to detect this species; however, a comparative assessment of their accuracy has not been conducted. This study aims to identify the optimal diagnostic PCR primers for the identification of A. flavus, among widely available primers. We isolated 122 A. flavus native isolates from randomly collected rice strips (N = 300). We identified 109 isolates to the genus level using universal fungal PCR primer pairs. Nine pairs of primers were examined for their PCR diagnostic specificity on the 109 isolates. FLA PCR was found to be the optimal PCR primer pair for specific identification of the native isolates, over aflP(1), aflM, aflA, aflD, aflP(3), aflP(2), and aflR. The PEP primer pair was found to be the most unsuitable for A. flavus identification. In conclusion, the present study indicates the powerful specificity of the FLA PCR primer over other commonly available diagnostic primers for accurate, rapid, and large-scale identification of A. flavus native isolates. This study provides the first simple, practical comparative guide to PCR-based screening of A. flavus infection in rice strips. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Biotransformation of chalcones by the endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from Paspalum maritimum trin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Correa, Marivaldo J.C.; Nunes, Fatima M.; Bitencourt, Heriberto R.; Borges, Fabio C.; Guilhon, Giselle M.S.P.; Arruda, Mara S.P.; Marinho, Andrey M. R.; Santos, Alberdan S.; Alves, Claudio N.; Santos, Lourivaldo S., E-mail: lss@ufpa.b [Universidade Federal do Para (IQ/FEQ/UFPA), Belem, PA (Brazil). Inst. de Tecnologia. Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica; Brasil, Davi S.B. [Universidade Federal do Para (PPGQ/IQ/UFPA), Belem, PA (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica

    2011-07-01

    The fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated as endophytic of the plant Paspalum maritimum Trin. was evaluated for its potential application in biotransformation reactions. The compounds chalcone (1), 3,4,5-trimethoxychalcone (2) and 2,3,4,4'-tetramethoxy chalcone (3) were biotransformed, respectively, in dihydrochalcone (4), 3,4,5-trimethoxydihydrochalcone (5) and 2,3,4,4'-tetramethoxydihydrochalcone (6). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR techniques, and MS analysis. The dihydrochalcones 5 and 6 are new compounds. (author)

  2. Biotransformation of chalcones by the endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from Paspalum maritimum trin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Correa, Marivaldo J.C.; Nunes, Fatima M.; Bitencourt, Heriberto R.; Borges, Fabio C.; Guilhon, Giselle M.S.P.; Arruda, Mara S.P.; Marinho, Andrey M. R.; Santos, Alberdan S.; Alves, Claudio N.; Santos, Lourivaldo S.; Brasil, Davi S.B.

    2011-01-01

    The fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated as endophytic of the plant Paspalum maritimum Trin. was evaluated for its potential application in biotransformation reactions. The compounds chalcone (1), 3,4,5-trimethoxychalcone (2) and 2,3,4,4'-tetramethoxy chalcone (3) were biotransformed, respectively, in dihydrochalcone (4), 3,4,5-trimethoxydihydrochalcone (5) and 2,3,4,4'-tetramethoxydihydrochalcone (6). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR techniques, and MS analysis. The dihydrochalcones 5 and 6 are new compounds. (author)

  3. Aspergillus fumigatus and Related Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugui, Janyce A.; Kwon-Chung, Kyung J.; Juvvadi, Praveen R.; Latgé, Jean-Paul; Steinbach, William J.

    2015-01-01

    The genus Aspergillus contains etiologic agents of aspergillosis. The clinical manifestations of the disease range from allergic reaction to invasive pulmonary infection. Among the pathogenic aspergilli, Aspergillus fumigatus is most ubiquitous in the environment and is the major cause of the disease, followed by Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus nidulans, and several species in the section Fumigati that morphologically resemble A. fumigatus. Patients that are at risk for acquiring aspergillosis are those with an altered immune system. Early diagnosis, species identification, and adequate antifungal therapy are key elements for treatment of the disease, especially in cases of pulmonary invasive aspergillosis that often advance very rapidly. Incorporating knowledge of the basic biology of Aspergillus species to that of the diseases that they cause is fundamental for further progress in the field. PMID:25377144

  4. Natamycin and Azithromycin are Synergistic in vitro against Ocular Pathogenic Aspergillus flavus species complex and Fusarium solani species complex Isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Haoyi; Zhou, Lutan; He, Yi; Gao, Chuanwen; Han, Lei; Xu, Yan

    2018-05-07

    The interaction of natamycin-azithromycin combination against 60 ocular fungal isolates was tested in vitro The combination produced 100% synergistic interactions when natamycin added azithromycin at 20, 40, 50 μg/ml against Aspergillus flavus species complex (AFSC) isolates and added azithromycin at 50 μg/ml against Fusarium solani species complex isolates. The combination with 50 μg/ml azithromycin enhanced natamycin's effect against AFSC isolates by reducing natamycin MICs from MIC 90 64μg/ml to MIC 90 0.031μg/ml. No antagonism was observed. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  5. Epidemiological and Genomic Landscape of Azole Resistance Mechanisms in Aspergillus Fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagiwara, Daisuke; Watanabe, Akira; Kamei, Katsuhiko; Goldman, Gustavo H.

    2016-01-01

    Invasive aspergillosis is a life-threatening mycosis caused by the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus. The predominant causal species is Aspergillus fumigatus, and azole drugs are the treatment of choice. Azole drugs approved for clinical use include itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, and the recently added isavuconazole. However, epidemiological research has indicated that the prevalence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolates has increased significantly over the last decade. What is worse is that azole-resistant strains are likely to have emerged not only in response to long-term drug treatment but also because of exposure to azole fungicides in the environment. Resistance mechanisms include amino acid substitutions in the target Cyp51A protein, tandem repeat sequence insertions at the cyp51A promoter, and overexpression of the ABC transporter Cdr1B. Environmental azole-resistant strains harboring the association of a tandem repeat sequence and punctual mutation of the Cyp51A gene (TR34/L98H and TR46/Y121F/T289A) have become widely disseminated across the world within a short time period. The epidemiological data also suggests that the number of Aspergillus spp. other than A. fumigatus isolated has risen. Some non-fumigatus species intrinsically show low susceptibility to azole drugs, imposing the need for accurate identification, and drug susceptibility testing in most clinical cases. Currently, our knowledge of azole resistance mechanisms in non-fumigatus Aspergillus species such as A. flavus, A. niger, A. tubingensis, A. terreus, A. fischeri, A. lentulus, A. udagawae, and A. calidoustus is limited. In this review, we present recent advances in our understanding of azole resistance mechanisms particularly in A. fumigatus. We then provide an overview of the genome sequences of non-fumigatus species, focusing on the proteins related to azole resistance mechanisms. PMID:27708619

  6. In Vitro Activities of Amphotericin B, Terbinafine, and Azole Drugs against Clinical and Environmental Isolates of Aspergillus terreus Sensu Stricto

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Mariana S.; Rojas, Florencia D.; Cattana, María E.; Sosa, María de los Ángeles; Iovannitti, Cristina A.; Giusiano, Gustavo E.

    2015-01-01

    The antifungal susceptibilities of 40 clinical and environmental isolates of A. terreus sensu stricto to amphotericin B, terbinafine, itraconazole, and voriconazole were determined in accordance with CLSI document M38-A2. All isolates had itraconazole and voriconazole MICs lower than epidemiologic cutoff values, and 5% of the isolates had amphotericin B MICs higher than epidemiologic cutoff values. Terbinafine showed the lowest MICs. No significant differences were found when MICs of clinical and environmental isolates were compared. PMID:25824228

  7. Species identification of Aspergillus, Fusarium and Mucorales with direct surface analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Carolis, E; Posteraro, B; Lass-Flörl, C; Vella, A; Florio, A R; Torelli, R; Girmenia, C; Colozza, C; Tortorano, A M; Sanguinetti, M; Fadda, G

    2012-05-01

    Accurate species discrimination of filamentous fungi is essential, because some species have specific antifungal susceptibility patterns, and misidentification may result in inappropriate therapy. We evaluated matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for species identification through direct surface analysis of the fungal culture. By use of culture collection strains representing 55 species of Aspergillus, Fusarium and Mucorales, a reference database was established for MALDI-TOF MS-based species identification according to the manufacturer's recommendations for microflex measurements and MALDI BioTyper 2.0 software. The profiles of young and mature colonies were analysed for each of the reference strains, and species-specific spectral fingerprints were obtained. To evaluate the database, 103 blind-coded fungal isolates collected in the routine clinical microbiology laboratory were tested. As a reference method for species designation, multilocus sequencing was used. Eighty-five isolates were unequivocally identified to the species level (≥99% sequence similarity); 18 isolates producing ambiguous results at this threshold were initially rated as identified to the genus level only. Further molecular analysis definitively assigned these isolates to the species Aspergillus oryzae (17 isolates) and Aspergillus flavus (one isolate), concordant with the MALDI-TOF MS results. Excluding nine isolates that belong to the fungal species not included in our reference database, 91 (96.8%) of 94 isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF MS to the species level, in agreement with the results of the reference method; three isolates were identified to the genus level. In conclusion, MALDI-TOF MS is suitable for the routine identification of filamentous fungi in a medical microbiology laboratory. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  8. MALDI-TOF MS Andromas strategy for the routine identification of bacteria, mycobacteria, yeasts, Aspergillus spp. and positive blood cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bille, E; Dauphin, B; Leto, J; Bougnoux, M-E; Beretti, J-L; Lotz, A; Suarez, S; Meyer, J; Join-Lambert, O; Descamps, P; Grall, N; Mory, F; Dubreuil, L; Berche, P; Nassif, X; Ferroni, A

    2012-11-01

    All organisms usually isolated in our laboratory are now routinely identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using the Andromas software. The aim of this study was to describe the use of this strategy in a routine clinical microbiology laboratory. The microorganisms identified included bacteria, mycobacteria, yeasts and Aspergillus spp. isolated on solid media or extracted directly from blood cultures. MALDI-TOF MS was performed on 2665 bacteria isolated on solid media, corresponding to all bacteria isolated during this period except Escherichia coli grown on chromogenic media. All acquisitions were performed without extraction. After a single acquisition, 93.1% of bacteria grown on solid media were correctly identified. When the first acquisition was not contributory, a second acquisition was performed either the same day or the next day. After two acquisitions, the rate of bacteria identified increased to 99.2%. The failures reported on 21 strains were due to an unknown profile attributed to new species (9) or an insufficient quality of the spectrum (12). MALDI-TOF MS has been applied to 162 positive blood cultures. The identification rate was 91.4%. All mycobacteria isolated during this period (22) were correctly identified by MALDI-TOF MS without any extraction. For 96.3% and 92.2% of yeasts and Aspergillus spp., respectively, the identification was obtained with a single acquisition. After a second acquisition, the overall identification rate was 98.8% for yeasts (160/162) and 98.4% (63/64) for Aspergillus spp. In conclusion, the MALDI-TOF MS strategy used in this work allows a rapid and efficient identification of all microorganisms isolated routinely. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  9. Invasive Aspergillus niger complex infections in a Belgian tertiary care hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeulen, E; Maertens, J; Meersseman, P; Saegeman, V; Dupont, L; Lagrou, K

    2014-05-01

    The incidence of invasive infections caused by the Aspergillus niger species complex was 0.043 cases/10 000 patient-days in a Belgian university hospital (2005-2011). Molecular typing was performed on six available A. niger complex isolates involved in invasive disease from 2010 to 2011, revealing A. tubingensis, which has higher triazole minimal inhibitory concentrations, in five out of six cases. © 2013 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2013 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  10. Exact Molecular Typing of Aspergillus fumigatus. Methods and Applications.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Valk-van Haren, J.A. de

    2008-01-01

    Aspergillus species are widely distributed fungi that release large amounts of airborne conidia that are dispersed in the environment. Aspergillus fumigatus is the species most frequently isolated from human infections. In this thesis a novel assay for fingerprinting A. fumigatus is described and

  11. Effect of Plant Essential Oils and Gamma Irradiation on Growth and Aflatoxin Production by Aspergillus Flavus Isolated from Wheat Grains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, E.A.; Shalaby, Kh.

    2016-01-01

    The antifungal potential of essential oils of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) and camphor ( Eucalyptus rostrata L.) was determined on Aspergillus flavus link isolated from wheat grains on Potato dextrose agar (PDA). They inhibited completely mycelia growth of the fungus at 1000 and 2000 ppm, and prevented aflatoxin production at sub lethal dose 500 and 1000 ppm respectively. Gamma radiation was used to control mycelia growth of Aspergillus flavus Link and inhibiting aflatoxin production. A dose level of 3.5 KGy gamma radiation prevented the fungal growth and aflatoxin production by A. flavus link, where a dose of 2.5 K Gy ( the sub lethal dose) prevented about 85% of aflatoxin production

  12. New species in Aspergillus section Terrei

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Samson, R. A.; Peterson, S. W.; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2011-01-01

    . clade including the type isolate of A. niveus (CBS 115.27) constitutes a lineage closely related to A. carneus. Fennellia nivea, the hypothesized teleomorph is not related to this clade. Aspergillus allahabadii, A. niveus var. indicus, and two species originally placed in section Versicolores, A......Section Terrei of Aspergillus was studied using a polyphasic approach including sequence analysis of parts of the beta-tubulin and calmodulin genes and the ITS region, macro- and micromorphological analyses and examination of extrolite profiles to describe three new species in this section. Based....... floccosus, A. terreus var. africanus, A. terreus var. aureus, while Aspergillus hortai is recognised at species level. Aspergillus terreus NRRL 4017 is described as the new species A. pseudoterreus. Also included in section Terrei are some species formerly placed in sections Flavipedes and Versicolores. A...

  13. [Aspergillus species in hospital environments with pediatric patients in critical condition].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Mariana; Cattana, María; Rojas, Florencia; Sosa, María de Los Ángeles; Aguirre, Clarisa; Vergara, Marta; Giusiano, Gustavo

    2014-01-01

    Aspergillus is a group of opportunistic fungi that cause infections, with high morbimortality in immunosuppressed patients. Aspergillus fumigatus is the most frequent species in these infections, although the incidence of other species has increased in the last few years. To evaluate the air fungal load and the diversity of Aspergillus species in hospitals with pediatric patients in critical condition. The Intensive Care Unit and Burns Unit of a pediatric hospital were sampled every 15 days during the autumn and spring seasons. The air samples were collected with SAS Super 100(®) and the surface samples were collected by swab method. The UFC/m(3) counts found exceeded the acceptable levels. The UFC/m(3) and the diversity of Aspergillus species found in the Intensive Care Unit were higher than those found in the Burns Unit. The fungal load and the diversity of species within the units were higher than those in control environments. The use of both methods -SAS and swab- allowed the detection of a higher diversity of species, with 96 strains of Aspergillus being isolated and 12 species identified. The outstanding findings were Aspergillus sydowii, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus and Aspergillus parasiticus, due to their high frequency. Aspergillus fumigatus, considered unacceptable in indoor environments, was isolated in both units. Aspergillus was present with high frequency in these units. Several species are of interest in public health for being potential pathogenic agents. Air control and monitoring are essential in the prevention of these infections. Copyright © 2013 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  14. Removal of Heavy Metals from Synthesis Industrial Wastewater Using Local Isolated Candida Utilis and Aspergillus Niger as Bio-Filter

    OpenAIRE

    Safaa Abd Alrasool Ali

    2013-01-01

    In this study biomass filter of Candida Utilis which isolated from food sample in Baghdad local market and Aspergillus Niger which isolated from Baghdad soil used to biosorption heavy metals from synthesis industrial wastewater. two bio-filters were designed as cylindrical Perspex with height 10cm, diameter 3cm as a shell and inside their are layers of Sponge were prepare as the size of diameter of the cylindrical filter with thickness of 2cm arrange inside it, biomass production were 6 g of ...

  15. Comparison of Two Molecular Assays for Detection and Characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus Triazole Resistance and Cyp51A Mutations in Clinical Isolates and Primary Clinical Samples of Immunocompromised Patients

    OpenAIRE

    Patricia Postina; Julian Skladny; Tobias Boch; Oliver A. Cornely; Oliver A. Cornely; Axel Hamprecht; Peter-Michael Rath; Jörg Steinmann; Oliver Bader; Thomas Miethke; Anne Dietz; Natalia Merker; Wolf-Karsten Hofmann; Dieter Buchheidt; Birgit Spiess

    2018-01-01

    In hematological patients, the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) caused by azole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus (ARAf) is rising. As the diagnosis of IA is rarely based on positive culture in this group of patients, molecular detection of resistance mutations directly from clinical samples is crucial. In addition to the in-house azole resistance ARAf polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays detecting the frequent mutation combinations TR34/L98H, TR46/Y121F/T289A, and M220 in the Aspergi...

  16. Antifungal Activity of Culture Filtrates and Organic Extracts of Aspergillus spp. against Pythium ultimum

    OpenAIRE

    Rania Aydi-Ben Abdallah; Marwa Hassine; Hayfa Jabnoun-Khiareddine; Rabiaa Haouala; Mejda Daami-Remadi

    2014-01-01

    Culture filtrates, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of nine isolates of Aspergillus spp. (A. niger, A. terreus, A. flavus and Aspergillus sp.), isolated from soil and compost, were tested for antifungal activity against Pythium ultimum the causal agent of the potato Pythium leak. Culture filtrates showed a significant antifungal activity at the different tested concentrations. Total inhibition of the pathogen was induced by the filtrate of CH8 of Aspergillus sp., used at 10% ...

  17. Real-time PCR-based method for rapid detection of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus welwitschiae isolated from coffee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Hertwig, Aline Morgan; Sant'Ana, Anderson S; Sartori, Daniele; da Silva, Josué José; Nascimento, Maristela S; Iamanaka, Beatriz Thie; Pelegrinelli Fungaro, Maria Helena; Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi

    2018-05-01

    Some species from Aspergillus section Nigri are morphologically very similar and altogether have been called A. niger aggregate. Although the species included in this group are morphologically very similar, they differ in their ability to produce mycotoxins and other metabolites and their taxonomical status has evolved continuously. Among them, A. niger and A. welwitschiae are ochratoxin A and fumonisin B 2 producers and their detection and/or identification is of crucial importance for food safety. The aim of this study was the development of a real-time PCR-based method for simultaneous discrimination of A. niger and A. welwitschiae from other species of the A. niger aggregate isolated from coffee beans. One primer pair and a hybridization probe specific for detection of A. niger and A. welwitschiae strains were designed based on the BenA gene sequences, and used in a Real-time PCR assay for the rapid discrimination between both these species from all others of the A. niger aggregate. The Real-time PCR assay was shown to be 100% efficient in discriminating the 73 isolates of A. niger/A. welwitschiae from the other A. niger aggregate species analyzed as a negative control. This result testifies to the use of this technique as a good tool in the rapid detection of these important toxigenic species. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Occurrence of toxigenic Aspergillus flavus in commercial Bulgur wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Bertechini FARIA

    Full Text Available Abstract Aflatoxins are mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic mycotoxins. The objective of this work was to study the presence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus in commercial Bulgur wheat in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. Thirty samples of commercial Bulgur wheat, acquired in the period of August 2011 to January 2012, were evaluated. The enumeration analysis showed that samples had up to 273.3 CFU of molds and 133.3 CFU of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus per gram of wheat. Forty-two monosporic isolates were obtained and identified as Aspergillus flavus. The isolates were analyzed regarding their aflatoxigenic potential by culture in coconut milk agar; hydroxide vapor exposure; chromatography; and polymerase chain reaction (PCR targeting genes that code enzymes of the aflatoxins synthesis pathway. Some of the isolates were confirmed to be aflatoxin producers and several of them presented a genetic profile of aflatoxin synthesis. The obtained results demonstrated that Bulgur wheat A. flavus contamination is concerning.

  19. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction by Aspergillus terreus isolated from the seasonal oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Stief, Peter; Fuchs-Ocklenburg, Silvia; Kamp, Anja; Manohar, Cathrine-Sumathi; Houbraken, Jos; Boekhout, Teun; de Beer, Dirk; Stoeck, Thorsten

    2014-01-01

    Background A wealth of microbial eukaryotes is adapted to life in oxygen-deficient marine environments. Evidence is accumulating that some of these eukaryotes survive anoxia by employing dissimilatory nitrate reduction, a strategy that otherwise is widespread in prokaryotes. Here, we report on the anaerobic nitrate metabolism of the fungus Aspergillus terreus (isolate An-4) that was obtained from sediment in the seasonal oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea, a globally important site of oce...

  20. Aflatoxin B1-producing Aspergillus in sun-dried medicinal plant materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinaputi, A.

    2001-10-01

    Full Text Available Fifty sun-dried medicinal plants were obtained from fraditional drug stores in Songkhla Province, Thailand, and examined for Aspergillus and aflatoxin B1. 288 isolates of Aspergillus were obtaines by standard blotter plate and 25 species were identified. The most common species were A. niger with 99 isolates, A. Flavus 84 isolates, A. terreus 33 isolates, A. oryzae 25 isolates, A.nidulans (Emericella nidulans 10 isolates, A fumigatus 9 isolates and A. chevalieri (Eurotium chevalieri 8 isolates. The other species[A. alliaceus, A.auricomus, A. carbonarius, A. carneus, A. clavatus, A. fisheri(Sartorya fumigata, A. janus, A. melleus,A. ochraceus, A. phoencis, A. sparsus, A. terricola, A. thomii, A. versicolor, A. wentii and Aspergillus sp.1-3] each had 1-2 siolates. Ofthe 50 different plants examined,9 had no trace of Aspergillus, namely Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Illicium verum, Andrographis paniculate, Carthamus tinctorius, Eugenia caryophyllus, Elettaria cardomomum, Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa and Cassia garrettiana. The highest number of species(9 of Aspergillus was found on Rauvolfia serpentina.The ability of Aspergillus to form aflatoxin was determined in coconut milk agar by observing the intensity of blue fluorescence in agar surrounding the colonies under ultraviolet light and the yellow pigment under the colonies. The results showed the production of aflatoxin was limited to the one species, A. flavus, from which 84 isolates produced aflatoxin in 57 isolates(67.8%.Aflatoxin B1. production was confirmed by culturing fluorescencing isolates of A. flavus in coconut nilk broth and detecting by ELISA technique. Aflatoxin B1. showed increasing production after 2 days, stabilizing at 3-4 days, and the decreasing after 5-6 days. Aflatoxin B1. could not be detected from nonfluorescencing isolates.The morphological characteristics of the aflatoxin B1. -producing and non-producing strains of A. flavus were similar under light microscope and

  1. Polyphasic approach to the identification and characterization of aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from peanuts and peanut-based products marketed in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norlia, M; Jinap, S; Nor-Khaizura, M A R; Son, R; Chin, C K; Sardjono

    2018-05-31

    Peanuts are widely consumed as the main ingredient in many local dishes in Malaysia. However, the tropical climate in Malaysia (high temperature and humidity) favours the growth of fungi from Aspergillus section Flavi, especially during storage. Most of the species from this section, such as A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius, are natural producers of aflatoxins. Precise identification of local isolates and information regarding their ability to produce aflatoxins are very important to evaluate the safety of food marketed in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and characterize the aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus section Flavi in peanuts and peanut-based products. A polyphasic approach, consisting of morphological and chemical characterizations was applied to 128 isolates originating from raw peanuts and peanut-based products. On the basis of morphological characters, 127 positively identified as Aspergillus flavus, and the other as A. nomius. Chemical characterization revealed six chemotype profiles which indicates diversity of toxigenic potential. About 58.6%, 68.5%, and 100% of the isolates are positive for aflatoxins, cyclopiazonic acid and aspergillic acid productions respectively. The majority of the isolates originating from raw peanut samples (64.8%) were aflatoxigenic, while those from peanut-based products were less toxigenic (39.1%). The precise identification of these species may help in developing control strategies for aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination in peanuts, especially during storage. These findings also highlight the possibility of the co-occurrence of other toxins, which could increase the potential toxic effects of peanuts. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Different Toxigenic and Atoxigenic Isolates of Aspergillus flavus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jake C. Fountain

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Drought stress in the field has been shown to exacerbate aflatoxin contamination of maize and peanut. Drought and heat stress also produce reactive oxygen species (ROS in plant tissues. Given the potential correlation between ROS and exacerbated aflatoxin production under drought and heat stress, the objectives of this study were to examine the effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2-induced oxidative stress on the growth of different toxigenic (+ and atoxigenic (− isolates of Aspergillus flavus and to test whether aflatoxin production affects the H2O2 concentrations that the isolates could survive. Ten isolates were tested: NRRL3357 (+, A9 (+, AF13 (+, Tox4 (+, A1 (−, K49 (−, K54A (−, AF36 (−, and Aflaguard (−; and one A. parasiticus isolate, NRRL2999 (+. These isolates were cultured under a H2O2 gradient ranging from 0 to 50 mM in two different media, aflatoxin-conducive yeast extract-sucrose (YES and non-conducive yeast extract-peptone (YEP. Fungal growth was inhibited at a high H2O2 concentration, but specific isolates grew well at different H2O2 concentrations. Generally the toxigenic isolates tolerated higher concentrations than did atoxigenic isolates. Increasing H2O2 concentrations in the media resulted in elevated aflatoxin production in toxigenic isolates. In YEP media, the higher concentration of peptone (15% partially inactivated the H2O2 in the media. In the 1% peptone media, YEP did not affect the H2O2 concentrations that the isolates could survive in comparison with YES media, without aflatoxin production. It is interesting to note that the commercial biocontrol isolates, AF36 (−, and Aflaguard (−, survived at higher levels of stress than other atoxigenic isolates, suggesting that this testing method could potentially be of use in the selection of biocontrol isolates. Further studies will be needed to investigate the mechanisms behind the variability among isolates with regard to their degree of oxidative stress

  3. Prevalence of potential toxigenic Aspergillus species isolated from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADEYEYE

    2015-12-17

    Dec 17, 2015 ... Aspergillus species) in feeds used in poultry farms in Sokoto metropolis. During a ... potential exists for the production of mycotoxins that may be of both veterinary public health significance and ..... The effect of antioxidant and.

  4. Lethality of cytochalasin B and other compounds isolated from fungus Aspergillus sp. (Trichocomaceae) endophyte of Bauhinia guianensis (Fabaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feitosa, André de O; Dias, Amanda Cristina S; Ramos, Gisele da C; Bitencourt, Heriberto R; Siqueira, José Edson S; Marinho, Patrícia Santana B; Barison, Andersson; Ocampos, Fernanda M M; Marinho, Andrey Moacir do R

    Endophytic fungi are fungi that colonize internal tissues of plants; several biologically active compounds have been isolated from these fungi. There are few studies of compounds isolated from endophytic fungi of Amazon plants. Thus, this study aimed the isolation and structural identification of ergosterol (1), ergosterol peroxide (2), mevalonolactone (3), cytochalasin B (4) and cytochalasin H (5) from Aspergillus sp. EJC 04, an endophytic fungus from Bauhinia guianensis. The cytochalasin B (4) and the diacetate derivative of cytochalasin B (4a) showed high lethality in the brine shrimp assay. This is the first occurrence of cytochalasins in Amazonian endophytic fungi from B. guianensis. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  5. Keratitis caused by the recently described new species Aspergillus brasiliensis: two case reports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vágvölgyi Csaba

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Human infections caused by Aspergillus brasiliensis have not yet been reported. We describe the first two known cases of fungal keratitis caused by Aspergillus brasiliensis. Case presentations A 49-year-old Indian Tamil woman agricultural worker came with pain and defective vision in the right eye for one month. Meanwhile, a 35-year-old Indian Tamil woman presented with a history of a corneal ulcer involving the left eye for 15 days. The fungal strains isolated from these two cases were originally suspected to belong to Aspergillus section Nigri based on macro- and micromorphological characteristics. Molecular identification revealed that both isolates represent A. brasiliensis. Conclusion The two A. brasiliensis strains examined in this study were part of six keratitis isolates from Aspergillus section Nigri, suggesting that this recently described species may be responsible for a significant proportion of corneal infections caused by black Aspergilli. The presented cases also indicate that significant differences may occur between the severities of keratitis caused by individual isolates of A. brasiliensis.

  6. Purification and characterization of factors produced by Aspergillus fumigatus which affect human ciliated respiratory epithelium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amitani, R; Taylor, G; Elezis, E N; Llewellyn-Jones, C; Mitchell, J; Kuze, F; Cole, P J; Wilson, R

    1995-09-01

    The mechanisms by which Aspergillus fumigatus colonizes the respiratory mucosa are unknown. Culture filtrates of eight of nine clinical isolates of A. fumigatus slowed ciliary beat frequency and damaged human respiratory epithelium in vitro. These changes appeared to occur concurrently. Culture filtrates of two clinical isolates of Candida albicans had no effect on ciliated epithelium. We have purified and characterized cilioinhibitory factors of a clinical isolate of A. fumigatus. The cilioinhibitory activity was heat labile, reduced by dialysis, and partially extractable into chloroform. The activity was associated with both high- and low-molecular-weight factors, as determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. A low-molecular-weight cilioinhibitory factor was further purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and shown by mass spectrometry to be gliotoxin, a known metabolite of A. fumigatus. Gliotoxin significantly slowed ciliary beat frequency in association with epithelial damage at concentrations above 0.2 microgram/ml; other Aspergillus toxins, i.e., fumagillin and helvolic acid, were also cilioinhibitory but at much higher concentrations. High-molecular-weight (> or = 35,000 and 25,000) cilioinhibitory materials had neither elastolytic nor proteolytic activity and remain to be identified. Thus, A. fumigatus produces a number of biologically active substances which slow ciliary beating and damage epithelium and which may influence colonization of the airways.

  7. Diversity of Aspergillus section Nigri on the surface of Vitis labrusca and its hybrid grapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferranti, Larissa de Souza; Fungaro, Maria Helena P; Massi, Fernanda Pelisson

    2018-01-01

    This study investigated the presence of Aspergillus species belonging to Aspergillus section Nigri on Vitis labrusca and its hybrid grapes grown in Brazil. The ability of the fungi isolates to produce ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B2 (FB2) as well as the presence of these mycotoxins in the gra......This study investigated the presence of Aspergillus species belonging to Aspergillus section Nigri on Vitis labrusca and its hybrid grapes grown in Brazil. The ability of the fungi isolates to produce ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B2 (FB2) as well as the presence of these mycotoxins...

  8. Screening a strain of Aspergillus niger and optimization of fermentation conditions for degradation of aflatoxin B₁.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Xue, Beibei; Li, Mengmeng; Mu, Yang; Chen, Zhihui; Li, Jianping; Shan, Anshan

    2014-11-13

    Aflatoxin B₁, a type of highly toxic mycotoxin produced by some species belonging to the Aspergillus genus, such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, is widely distributed in feed matrices. Here, coumarin was used as the sole carbon source to screen microorganism strains that were isolated from types of feed ingredients. Only one isolate (ND-1) was able to degrade aflatoxin B₁ after screening. ND-1 isolate, identified as a strain of Aspergillus niger using phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 18S rDNA, could remove 26.3% of aflatoxin B₁ after 48 h of fermentation in nutrient broth (NB). Optimization of fermentation conditions for aflatoxin B₁ degradation by selected Aspergillus niger was also performed. These results showed that 58.2% of aflatoxin B₁ was degraded after 24 h of culture under the optimal fermentation conditions. The aflatoxin B₁ degradation activity of Aspergillus niger supernatant was significantly stronger than cells and cell extracts. Furthermore, effects of temperature, heat treatment, pH, and metal ions on aflatoxin B₁ degradation by the supernatant were examined. Results indicated that aflatoxin B₁ degradation of Aspergillus niger is enzymatic and this process occurs in the extracellular environment.

  9. Isolation, screening and characterization of a novel extracellular xylanase from Aspergillus niger (KP874102.1) and its application in orange peel hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uday, Uma Shankar Prasad; Majumdar, Ria; Tiwari, Onkar Nath; Mishra, Umesh; Mondal, Abhijit; Bandyopadhyay, Tarun Kanti; Bhunia, Biswanath

    2017-12-01

    In the present work, a potent xylanase producing fungal strain Aspergillus niger (KP874102.1) was isolated through cultural and morphological observations from soil sample of Baramura forest, Tripura west, India. 28S rDNA technique was applied for genomic identification of this fungal strain. The isolated strain was found to be phylogenetically closely related to Aspergillus niger. Kinetic constants such as K m and V max for extracellular xylanase were determined using various substrate such as beech wood xylan, oat spelt xylan and CM cellulose through Lineweaver-Burk plot. K m , V max and K cat for beech wood xylan are found to be 2.89mg/ml, 2442U and 426178Umlmg -1 respectively. Crude enzyme did not show also CM cellulose activity. The relative efficiency of oat spelt xylan was found to be 0.819 with respect to beech wood xylan. After acid hydrolysis, enzyme was able to produce reducing sugar with 17.7, 35.5, 50.8 and 65% (w/w) from orange peel after 15, 30, 45 and 60min incubation with cellulase free xylanase and maximum reducing sugar formation rate was found to be 55.96μg/ml/min. Therefore, the Aspergillus niger (KP874102.1) is considered as a potential candidate for enzymatic hydrolysis of orange peel. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Aspergillus brasiliensis sp. nov., a biseriate black Aspergillus species with world-wide distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Varga, János; Kocsubé, Sándor; Tóth, Beáta

    2007-01-01

    to produce ochratoxin A, kotanins, funalenone or pyranonigrins. The novel species was most closely related to A. niger, and was isolated from soil from Brazil, Australia, USA and The Netherlands, and from grape berries from Portugal. The type strain of Aspergillus brasiliensis sp. nov. is CBS 101740(T) (=IM...

  11. (+)-Geodin from Aspergillus terreus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rønnest, Mads Holger; Nielsen, Morten Thrane; Leber, Blanka

    2011-01-01

    The fungal metabolite (+)-geodin [systematic name: (2R)-methyl 5,7-dichloro-4-hydroxy-6'-methoxy-6-methyl-3,4'-dioxospiro[benzofuran-2,1'-cyclohexa-2',5'-diene]-2'-carboxylate], C(17)H(12)Cl(2)O(7), was isolated from Aspergillus terreus. The crystal structure contains two independent molecules...

  12. Comparative genomics analysis of field isolates of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus to explain phenotypic variation in oxidative stress tolerance and host preference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflatoxin contamination of peanut and other crops is a major concern for producers globally, and has been shown to be exacerbated by drought stress. Previous transcriptomic and proteomic examination of the responses of isolates of Aspergillus flavus to drought-related oxidative stress in vitro have ...

  13. Influence of essential oils on the growth of aspergillus flavus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denisa Foltinová

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper was focused on the determination of the inhibitory effect of selected essential oils on growth of ten isolates of Aspergillus flavus and their potential ability to produce mycotoxins in vitro by TLC method. The isolates were obtained from moldy bread of domestic origin. We followed the impact of five essential oils at 100% concentration - lemon, eucalyptus, oregano, sage and thyme. The effect of the essential oils we tested the gaseous diffusion method. We isolates grown on CYA (Czapek yeast extract agar, in the dark at 25 ±1 °C, 14 days. The diameter of colonies grown we continuously measured on the 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 14th day of cultivation. The results of the paper suggest that oregano and thyme essential oil had 100% inhibited the growth of all tested isolates of Aspergillus flavus. Lemon, eucalyptus and sage essential oil had not significant inhibitory effects on tested isolates Aspergillus flavus, but affected the growth of colonies throughout the cultivation. In addition to the inhibitory effect we witnessed the stimulative effect of lemon, eucalyptus and sage essential oil to some isolates. Together with the antifungal effect of essential oils, we monitored the ability of Aspergillus flavus isolates to produce mycotoxins - aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA in the presence of essential oils. Production mycotoxins we have seen in the last (14th day of cultivation. Lemon and eucalyptus essential oil did not affect the production of mycotoxins. In the case of sage essential oil we were recorded cyclopiazonic acid production in three of the ten isolates from the all three repetitions, while neither isolate did not produced aflatoxin B1. The production of secondary metabolites was detected in all control samples. From the results we can say that oregano and thyme essential oil could be used as a natural preservative useful in the food industry.

  14. Metabolites from marine fungus Aspergillus sp.

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Wahidullah, S.; Rajmanickam, R.; DeSouza, L.

    Chemical examination of a methanolic extract of the marine fungus, Aspergillus sp., isolated from marine grass environment, yielded a steroid, ergosterol peroxide (1), and a mixture of known glyceride esters (2,3) of unsaturated fatty acids...

  15. New ochratoxin A or sclerotium producing species in Aspergillus section Nigri

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Samson, R.A.; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2004-01-01

    in Costa Rica and produces large pink to greyish brown sclerotia. Aspergillus lacticoffeatus was found on coffee beans in Venezuela and Indonesia, and is an effective producer of ochratoxin A. Aspergillus piperis was isolated from black ground pepper and produces large yellow to pink brown sclerotia...

  16. Cyclo-(trp-phe diketopiperazines from the endophytic fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from Piper aduncum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana R. Gubiani

    Full Text Available Six known compounds, three peptide derivatives: cyclo-(tryptophyl-phenylalanyl (2, diketopiperazine dimer WIN 64821 (3 and 3-hydroxy-15H-tryptophenaline (4, one adenine derivative: 2-hydroxy-6-N-isopentenyl-adenine (5, one phtalide derivative: 4-methoxyphtalide (1 and one benzoic acid derivative: 3-hydroxy-4-(1-hydroxy-1,5-dimethyl-hexyl benzoic acid (6, were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the endophytic fungus Aspergillus versicolor associated with the Piper aduncum plant. Their structures were determined on the basis of detailed interpretation of 1 D and 2D NMR spectra and in comparison with works reported in the literature. This paper, in effect, deals with the first report of these compounds in A. versicolor.

  17. Molecular characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from raw cow milk in Argentina: Molecular typing of A. fumigatus from raw cow milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pena, Gabriela A; Alonso, Verónica; Manini, Marina Velasco; Pellegrino, M; Cavaglieri, Lilia R

    2018-06-20

    Aspergillus fumigatus, the major etiological agent of human and animal aspergillosis, is a gliotoxinogenic species into section Fumigati commonly found in contaminated animal environments. In dairy herds, exposed areas of lactating cows, as mammalian glandule, can be easily contaminated by them. This study was aimed to identify A. fumigatus sensu lato strains (identified based on morphology) isolated from raw cow milk at species level, by morphological and molecular techniques, and to estimate their genetic variability. Forty-five A. fumigatus strains showed similar RAPD profiles (generated with PELF and URP1F primers) to each other and to A. fumigatus sensu stricto reference strains; also, they were almost identical to clinical human and feed-borne A. fumigatus strains included in the assay, since their similarity coefficient ranged from 0.7 to 1.00. Therefore, all strains were characterized as belonging to A. fumigatus sensu stricto species. This result was supported by sequencing the benA gene of selected strains and by maximum parsimony analysis. In addition, RAPD fingerprinting demonstrated intra-specific genetic variability into the A. fumigatus sensu stricto cluster. The results found in this study strengthen the fact that A. fumigatus sensu stricto is the predominant species in the Aspergillus section Fumigati found in animal environments such as dairy herd environments, while other species such as A. novofumigatus, A. fumigatiaffinis, A. udagawae and A. lentulus may be rarely isolated. Since no differences between animal and human strains were observed they can become pathogenic also for farm handlers'. Moreover, the presence of A. fumigatus sensu stricto in raw cow milk is probably a very important risk factor since milk and its by-products are generally indented for human consumption, then gliotoxin could be transferred to them. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Mycotoxin production and predictive modelling kinetics on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus isolates in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yogendrarajah, Pratheeba; Vermeulen, An; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Mavromichali, Evangelia; De Saeger, Sarah; De Meulenaer, Bruno; Devlieghere, Frank

    2016-07-02

    The growth and mycotoxin production of three Aspergillus flavus isolates and an Aspergillus parasiticus isolate were studied in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L.) using a full factorial design with seven water activity (aw) (0.826-0.984) levels and three temperatures (22, 30 and 37°C). Growth rates and lag phases were estimated using linear regression. Diverse secondary models were assessed for their ability to describe the radial growth rate as a function of individual and combined effect of aw and temperature. Optimum radial growth rate ranged from 0.75±0.04 to 2.65±0.02mm/day for A. flavus and 1.77±0.10 to 2.50±0.10mm/day for A. parasiticus based on the Rosso cardinal estimations. Despite the growth failure of some isolates at marginal conditions, all the studied models showed good performance to predict the growth rates. Validation of the models was performed on independently derived data. The bias factors (0.73-1.03), accuracy factors (0.97-1.36) and root mean square error (0.050-0.278) show that the examined models are conservative predictors of the colony growth rate of both fungal species in black peppers. The Rosso cardinal model can be recommended to describe the individual aw effect while the extended Gibson model was the best model for describing the combined effect of aw and temperature on the growth rate of both fungal species in peppercorns. Temperature optimum ranged from 30 to 33°C, while aw optimum was 0.87-0.92 as estimated by multi-factorial cardinal model for both species. The estimated minimum temperature and aw for A. flavus and A. parasiticus for growth were 11-16°C and 0.73-0.76, respectively, hence, achieving these conditions should be considered during storage to prevent the growth of these mycotoxigenic fungal species in black peppercorns. Following the growth study, production of mycotoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, sterigmatocystin and O-methyl sterigmatocystin (OMST)) was quantified using LC-MS/MS. Very small

  19. Optimization of pectinase enzyme production in Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from rotten fruits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Pectinase is one of the most important industrial enzymes which was isolated from a wide variety of microorganisms such as bacteria and filamentous fungi. This enzyme has been usually used in the juice and textile industry. In this study, the isolation and optimization of pectinase-producing fungi on decaying rotten fruits were studied. Materials and methods: Isolation and screening of pectinase producing fungi have been done by plate culture on pectin medium and staining with Lugol's iodine solution. The best strain was identified by method of Pitt and Hocking as Aspergillus fumigates. The enzyme production was optimized by application of the factorial design which involves five factors, each at three levels. Five factors were carbon sources (whey, sugar, stevia and ammonium sulfate, manganese sulfate, temperature, and pH. Pectinase concentration was measured by the Miller method. Results: The results showed that the optimum condition for enzyme production was at 32 °C, PH = 6 , 3g / L manganese sulfate, 2.75g / L of ammonium sulfate, 10g / L of each carbon source (whey, stevia, and glucose. Optimum of enzyme production was observed in the presence of 1.328 mg / ml of glucose. Molecular weight of enzyme was obtained about 40 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Discussion and conclusion: The results demonstrated that this strain could grow in a wide range of carbon sources, PH and temperature. This study indicates that this strain is a good candidate for use in industrial application.

  20. Prospecting for the incidence of genes involved in ochratoxin and fumonisin biosynthesis in Brazilian strains of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus welwitschiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massi, Fernanda Pelisson; Sartori, Daniele; de Souza Ferranti, Larissa; Iamanaka, Beatriz Thie; Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Vieira, Maria Lucia Carneiro; Fungaro, Maria Helena Pelegrinelli

    2016-03-16

    Aspergillus niger "aggregate" is an informal taxonomic rank that represents a group of species from the section Nigri. Among A. niger "aggregate" species Aspergillus niger sensu stricto and its cryptic species Aspergillus welwitschiae (=Aspergillus awamori sensu Perrone) are proven as ochratoxin A and fumonisin B2 producing species. A. niger has been frequently found in tropical and subtropical foods. A. welwitschiae is a new species, which was recently dismembered from the A. niger taxon. These species are morphologically very similar and molecular data are indispensable for their identification. A total of 175 Brazilian isolates previously identified as A. niger collected from dried fruits, Brazil nuts, coffee beans, grapes, cocoa and onions were investigated in this study. Based on partial calmodulin gene sequences about one-half of our isolates were identified as A. welwitschiae. This new species was the predominant species in onions analyzed in Brazil. A. niger and A. welwitschiae differ in their ability to produce ochratoxin A and fumonisin B2. Among A. niger isolates, approximately 32% were OTA producers, but in contrast only 1% of the A. welwitschiae isolates revealed the ability to produce ochratoxin A. Regarding fumonisin B2 production, there was a higher frequency of FB2 producing isolates in A. niger (74%) compared to A. welwitschiae (34%). Because not all A. niger and A. welwitschiae strains produce ochratoxin A and fumonisin B2, in this study a multiplex PCR was developed for detecting the presence of essential genes involved in ochratoxin (polyketide synthase and radHflavin-dependent halogenase) and fumonisin (α-oxoamine synthase) biosynthesis in the genome of A. niger and A. welwitschiae isolates. The frequency of strains harboring the mycotoxin genes was markedly different between A. niger and A. welwitschiae. All OTA producing isolates of A. niger and A. welwitschiae showed in their genome the pks and radH genes, and 95.2% of the nonproducing

  1. Plastic degrading fungi Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus nomius isolated from local landfill soil in Medan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munir, E.; Harefa, R. S. M.; Priyani, N.; Suryanto, D.

    2018-03-01

    Plastic is a naturally recalcitrant polymer, once it enters the environment, it will remain there for many years. Accumulation of plastic as wastes in the environment poses a serious problem and causes an ecological threat. Alternative strategies to reduce accumulation of plastic wastes have been initiated and implemented from a different aspect including from microbiological view point. The study to obtain potential fungi in degrading plastic molecule has been initiated in our laboratory. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic was used as a tested material. Candidate fungi were isolated from local landfill soil. The fungi were cultured in mineral salt medium broth containing LDPE powder. Two of nine isolates showed best growth response in broth media containing LDPE. These isolates (RH03 and RH06) were used in degradation test. Results showed that isolate RH03 and RH06 reduced the weight of LDPE film by 5.13% and 6.63%, respectively after 45 days of cultivation. The tensile strength of treated film even reduced significantly by 58% and 40% of each isolate. Analyses of electron micrograph exhibited grove ands rough were formed on the surface of LDPE film. These were not found in the untreated film. Furthermore, molecular analysis through polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing indicated that RH03 is Trichoderma viride and RH06 is Aspergillus nomius with 97% and 96% similarities, respectively.

  2. Identification of ochratoxin A producing Aspergillus carbonarius and A. niger clade isolated from grapes using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storari, M; von Rohr, R; Pertot, I; Gessler, C; Broggini, G A L

    2013-04-01

    To develop two assays based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of DNA for the quick and specific identification of Aspergillus carbonarius and ochratoxigenic strains of the Aspergillus niger clade isolated from grapes. Two sets of primers were designed based on the polyketide synthase genes involved or putatively involved in ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis in A. carbonarius and A. niger clade. Hydroxynaphthol blue was used as indirect method to indicate DNA amplification. The limit of detection of both assays was comparable to that of a PCR reaction. Specificities of the reactions were tested using DNA from different black aspergilli isolated from grapes. The two LAMP assays were then used to identify A. carbonarius and ochratoxigenic A. niger and A. awamori grown in pure cultures without a prior DNA extraction. The two LAMP assays permitted to quickly and specifically identify DNA from OTA-producing black aspergilli, as well as isolates grown in pure culture. Monitoring vineyards for the presence of OTA-producing strains is part of the measures to minimize the occurrence of OTA in grape products. The two LAMP assays developed here could be potentially used to speed the screening process of vineyards for the presence of OTA-producing black aspergilli. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  3. Species identification of Aspergillus section Flavi isolates from Portuguese almonds using phenotypic, including MALDI-TOF ICMS, and molecular approaches

    OpenAIRE

    Rodrigues, Paula; Venâncio, Armando; Lima, Nelson

    2011-01-01

    Section Flavi is one of the most significant Sections in the genus Aspergillus. Taxonomy of this section currently depends on multivariate approaches, entailing phenotypic and molecular traits. This work aimed to identify isolates from section Flavi by combining various classic phenotypic and genotypic methods as well as the novel approach based on spectral analysis by MALDI-TOF ICMS, and to evaluate the discriminatory power of the various approaches in species identification. Methods and ...

  4. [Mycotic aneurism in aortic arch by Aspergillus fumigatus: contribution of a case and review of the literature].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burón Fernández, M R; Oruezábal Moreno, M J

    2005-09-01

    The micotic aneurisms by Aspergillus are rare and usually appear in the context of an invasive pulmonary aspergilosis, or by septicum embolism or direct extension from the lungs, for that reason the location the more frequents is in aortic arch and the ascending aorta.8 cases of micotic aneurisms by Aspergillus spp. have been described in literature between 1966 and 2000, being the most frequent location the ascending aorta or the aortic arch. The Aspergillus fumigatus is the isolated species with more frequency, affecting mainly to patients undergoing inmunosupression. The diagnosis of a micotic aneurism requires a high clinical suspicion, given to its peculiarity and the presence of inespecific symptoms, being frequently an accidental finding in an invasive pulmonary aspergilosis.The case of a patient with a micotic aneurism by A. fumigatus appears and we reviewed the similar cases previously disclosed.

  5. Isolation and genetic analysis of Aspergillus niger mutants with reduced extracellular glucoamylase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valent, G.U.; Calil, M.R.; Bonatelli Junior, R.

    1992-01-01

    Mutants with impaired production of extracellular glucoamylase were isolated at a high frequency (2% of survivors) from an Aspergillus niger strain treated with UV light. These were designated as low glucoamylase producers (lgp, up to 30% of the parental yield) and medium producers (mgp, a 35 to 50% decrease in enzyme level). All the mutants were shown to be recessive; one strain segregated two unlinked genes. Complementation tests, and segregation from heterozygous diploid, suggested at least three to four unlinked genes, each able to impair glucoamylase production. There is evidence of a single structural gene for glucoamylase in A. niger. Therefore, as production of extracellular enzymes is normally the final result of several steps at intracellular and membrane levels, including regulation of enzyme synthesis, we suggest intergenic interaction that controls extracellular enzyme accumulation and that mutation in any of these genes would result in impaired production. (author)

  6. Cloning and Genomic Organization of a Rhamnogalacturonase Gene from Locally Isolated Strain of Aspergillus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damak, Naourez; Abdeljalil, Salma; Taeib, Noomen Hadj; Gargouri, Ali

    2015-08-01

    The rhg gene encoding a rhamnogalacturonase was isolated from the novel strain A1 of Aspergillus niger. It consists of an ORF of 1.505 kb encoding a putative protein of 446 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 47 kDa, belonging to the family 28 of glycosyl hydrolases. The nature and position of amino acids comprising the active site as well as the three-dimensional structure were well conserved between the A. niger CTM10548 and fungal rhamnogalacturonases. The coding region of the rhg gene is interrupted by three short introns of 56 (introns 1 and 3) and 52 (intron 2) bp in length. The comparison of the peptide sequence with A. niger rhg sequences revealed that the A1 rhg should be an endo-rhamnogalacturonases, more homologous to rhg A than rhg B A. niger known enzymes. The comparison of rhg nucleotide sequence from A. niger A1 with rhg A from A. niger shows several base changes. Most of these changes (59 %) are located at the third base of codons suggesting maintaining the same enzyme function. We used the rhamnogalacturonase A from Aspergillus aculeatus as a template to build a structural model of rhg A1 that adopted a right-handed parallel β-helix.

  7. Fungi Isolated from Flue-cured Tobacco at Time of Sale and After Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, R E; Lucas, G B

    1969-03-01

    The fungi isolated from 100 samples of flue-cured tobacco from 12 markets in 2 tobacco belts comprised 11 genera, including 10 species of Aspergillus. The mean percentage per sample isolated from 62 samples of tobacco from Middle Belt markets was Alternaria, 40.6%; Aspergillus niger, 47.8%; Aspergillus repens, 38.0%; and Penicillium, 25.8%. The mean percentage per sample isolated from 38 samples of tobacco from Old Belt markets was Alternaria, 74.0%; Penicillium, 52.5%; Aspergillus repens, 38.0%; and Aspergillus ruber, 36.2%. Damaged (74 samples) and nondamaged (26 samples) stored tobacco yielded species of six genera of fungi, including eight species of Aspergillus. Species of Aspergillus and Penicillium were commonly isolated from both damaged and nondamaged tobacco, whereas species of Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus were isoalted more frequently from nondamaged tobacco. The fungi that occurred in the highest population in damaged tobacco were Aspergillus repens, A. niger, A. ruber, and Penicillium species.

  8. Home Environment as a Source of Life-Threatening Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Immunocompromised Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavergne, Rose-Anne; Chouaki, Taieb; Hagen, Ferry; Toublanc, Bénédicte; Dupont, Hervé; Jounieaux, Vincent; Meis, Jacques F; Morio, Florent; Le Pape, Patrice

    2017-01-01

    A case of fatal aspergillosis due to a TR 46 /Y121F/T289A azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is reported. Environmental investigations at the patient's residence led to the recovery of TR 46 /Y121F/T289A isolates, genotypically indistinguishable from the clinical isolate, supporting for the first time the direct role of household as potential source of azole-resistant invasive aspergillosis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Biodiversity and ITS-RFLP Characterisation of Aspergillus Section Nigri Isolates in Grapes from Four Traditional Grape-Producing Areas in Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kizis, Dimosthenis; Natskoulis, Pantelis; Nychas, George-John E.; Panagou, Efstathios Z.

    2014-01-01

    A study on the occurrence of Aspergillus section Nigri species on grapes from four traditional grape-producing areas in Greece during the 2011/2012 vintage, and their capability to produce OTA was conducted. One hundred and twenty-eight black aspergilli isolates were characterised at the species level initially by the use of morphological criteria in accordance with appropriate keys, followed by molecular characterisation performed with Polymerase Chain Reaction–Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the 5.8 ribosomal RNA gene Internal Transcribed Spacer region (5.8 rRNA ITS). Restriction enzyme digestion of the ITS amplicons using the HhaI, HinfI and RsaI, endonucleases distinguished eleven different patterns of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), four for each of the HhaI and RsaI digests and three for HinfI. From a total number of 128 individual isolates, 124 were classified into four Aspergillus species corresponding to A. carbonarius, A. tubingensis, A. japonicus and A. ibericus, and the remaining 4 were classified as members of the A. niger aggregate. A. carbonarius and A. tubingensis being the main representative species were equally counted, with higher geographical representation of the former in southern and the latter in northern regions, respectively. All isolates were tested for their ochratoxigenic potential by use of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA), resulting in significant interspecies differences in OTA production. PMID:24710283

  10. Isolation and optimization of pectinase enzyme production one of useful industrial enzyme in Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus oryzae, Penicilium chrysogenum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    akram songol

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Pectinase enzyme is one of the most important industrial enzymes which isolated from a wide variety of microorganisms such as bacteria and filamentous fungi. This enzyme has been usually used in the fruit and textile industry. In this study, the isolation and optimization of pectinase-producing fungi on decaying rotten fruits were studied. Materials and methods: Isolation and screening of pectinase producing fungi performed through plate culture on pectin medium and staining with Lugol's iodine solution. The best strains were identified by ITS1, 4 sequencing as Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizopus oryzae, Penicilium chrysogenum. The enzyme production was optimized by application of the five factorial design, each at three levels. These factors are carbon sources (whey, glucose and stevia, ammonium sulfate, manganese sulfate, temperature, and pH. Pectinase concentration was measured by the Miller method. Results: The results indicate that optimum condition for enzyme production for three fungi strains was obtained at 32 °C, pH = 6, 3g / L manganese sulfate, 2.75g / L of ammonium sulfate and 10g / L of each carbon source. The best experiment in obtaining the optimum enzyme contained 1.328 mg / ml of glucose for Aspergillus niger 1.284 and 1.039 mg / ml of whey for Rhizopus oryzae and Penicilium chrysogenum. Molecular weight of enzyme was about 40 and 37 kDa which was obtained by SDS- PAGE. Discussion and conclusion: The results indicate that three strains could grow in a wide range of carbon source, pH and temperature, which could be a good candidate for industrial application.

  11. Polyphasic taxonomy of Aspergillus section Cervini

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, A.J.; Varga, J.; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2016-01-01

    Species belonging to Aspergillus section Cervini are characterised by radiate or short columnar, fawn coloured, uniseriate conidial heads. The morphology of the taxa in this section is very similar and isolates assigned to these species are frequently misidentified. In this study, a polyphasic...

  12. Immobilization of Isolated Lipase From Moldy Copra (Aspergillus Oryzae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seniwati Dali

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Enzyme immobilization is a recovery technique that has been studied in several years, using support as a media to help enzyme dissolutions to the reaction substrate. Immobilization method used in this study was adsorption method, using specific lipase from Aspergillus oryzae. Lipase was partially purified from the culture supernatant of Aspergillus oryzae. Enzyme was immobilized by adsorbed on silica gel. Studies on free and immobilized lipase systems for determination of optimum pH, optimum temperature, thermal stability and reusability were carried out. The results showed that free lipase had optimum pH 8,2 and optimum temperature 35 °C while the immobilized lipase had optimum 8,2 and optimum temperature 45 °C. The thermal stability of the immobilized lipase, relative to that of the free lipase, was markedly increased. The immobilized lipase can be reused for at least six times.

  13. Performance of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization−Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Identification of Aspergillus, Scedosporium, and Fusarium spp. in the Australian Clinical Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleiman, Sue; Halliday, Catriona L.; Chapman, Belinda; Brown, Mitchell; Nitschke, Joanne; Lau, Anna F.

    2016-01-01

    We developed an Australian database for the identification of Aspergillus, Scedosporium, and Fusarium species (n = 28) by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization−time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). In a challenge against 117 isolates, species identification significantly improved when the in-house-built database was combined with the Bruker Filamentous Fungi Library compared with that for the Bruker library alone (Aspergillus, 93% versus 69%; Fusarium, 84% versus 42%; and Scedosporium, 94% versus 18%, respectively). PMID:27252460

  14. Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Aspergillus spp. by Using a Composite Correlation Index (CCI)-Based Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Appears To Not Offer Benefit over Traditional Broth Microdilution Testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gitman, Melissa R; McTaggart, Lisa; Spinato, Joanna; Poopalarajah, Rahgavi; Lister, Erin; Husain, Shahid; Kus, Julianne V

    2017-07-01

    Aspergillus spp. cause serious invasive lung infections, and Aspergillus fumigatus is the most commonly encountered clinically significant species. Voriconazole is considered to be the drug of choice for treating A. fumigatus infections; however, rising resistance rates have been reported. We evaluated a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based method for the differentiation between wild-type and non-wild-type isolates of 20 Aspergillus spp. (including 2 isolates of Aspergillus ustus and 1 of Aspergillus calidoustus that were used as controls due their intrinsic low azole susceptibility with respect to the in vitro response to voriconazole). At 30 and 48 h of incubation, there was complete agreement between Cyp51A sequence analysis, broth microdilution, and MALDI-TOF MS classification of isolates as wild type or non-wild type. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS can be used to accurately detect A. fumigatus strains with reduced voriconazole susceptibility. However, rather than proving to be a rapid and simple method for antifungal susceptibility testing, this particular MS-based method showed no benefit over conventional testing methods. © Crown copyright 2017.

  15. Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Aspergillus spp. by Using a Composite Correlation Index (CCI)-Based Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Appears To Not Offer Benefit over Traditional Broth Microdilution Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gitman, Melissa R.; McTaggart, Lisa; Spinato, Joanna; Poopalarajah, Rahgavi; Lister, Erin; Husain, Shahid

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Aspergillus spp. cause serious invasive lung infections, and Aspergillus fumigatus is the most commonly encountered clinically significant species. Voriconazole is considered to be the drug of choice for treating A. fumigatus infections; however, rising resistance rates have been reported. We evaluated a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based method for the differentiation between wild-type and non-wild-type isolates of 20 Aspergillus spp. (including 2 isolates of Aspergillus ustus and 1 of Aspergillus calidoustus that were used as controls due their intrinsic low azole susceptibility with respect to the in vitro response to voriconazole). At 30 and 48 h of incubation, there was complete agreement between Cyp51A sequence analysis, broth microdilution, and MALDI-TOF MS classification of isolates as wild type or non-wild type. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS can be used to accurately detect A. fumigatus strains with reduced voriconazole susceptibility. However, rather than proving to be a rapid and simple method for antifungal susceptibility testing, this particular MS-based method showed no benefit over conventional testing methods. PMID:28404678

  16. Evaluation of the detection techniques of toxigenic Aspergillus isolates

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aflatoxins are difuranocoumarin derivatives produced by some Aspergillus species through a polyketide pathway. Mycotoxins are considered hazardous and there is a need for accurate detection of each toxin. Several screening methods for direct visual determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A (OTA) production have ...

  17. Detection of Aflatoxin Producing Aspergillus flavus in Post-harvest Contaminated Vigna ungulculata Seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ajay Kumar Gautam

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study was carried out with a specific objective to study postharvest spoilage of Lobhiya (Vigna unguiculata seeds contaminated with Aspergillus flavus. Infected seeds were collected and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA media, at 25±2 °C. Aspergillus flavus isolates were primarily characterized by its morphological and microscopic characteristics. Collected fungal isolates were also screened for their afaltoxigenic nature on preliminary basis and at molecular level. For preliminary screening, 5 mm disc of fungal culture was soaked with few drops of liquid ammonia. Color change from yellow pigment to plum-red with different intensities showed the mycotoxic nature of the fungus. DNA from fungal isolates was isolated and amplified using PCR with aflatoxin specific primers, apa-2, ver-1 and omt-1. Amplicons of 1032 bp, 895 bp and 596 bp were obtained in most of the isolates regardless of primer set used which was useful to differentiate between mycotoxic and nontoxic isolates of A. flavus. The isolation of aflatoxigenic strains of A. flavus during post-harvest period of lobhiya seeds raise a serious concern over the quality of seeds and a threat to heath of consumers. It was concluded that Aspergillus flavus is responsible for postharvest spolilage of Lobhiya (Vigna unguiculata.

  18. Fungi Isolated from Flue-cured Tobacco at Time of Sale and After Storage1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, R. E.; Lucas, G. B.

    1969-01-01

    The fungi isolated from 100 samples of flue-cured tobacco from 12 markets in 2 tobacco belts comprised 11 genera, including 10 species of Aspergillus. The mean percentage per sample isolated from 62 samples of tobacco from Middle Belt markets was Alternaria, 40.6%; Aspergillus niger, 47.8%; Aspergillus repens, 38.0%; and Penicillium, 25.8%. The mean percentage per sample isolated from 38 samples of tobacco from Old Belt markets was Alternaria, 74.0%; Penicillium, 52.5%; Aspergillus repens, 38.0%; and Aspergillus ruber, 36.2%. Damaged (74 samples) and nondamaged (26 samples) stored tobacco yielded species of six genera of fungi, including eight species of Aspergillus. Species of Aspergillus and Penicillium were commonly isolated from both damaged and nondamaged tobacco, whereas species of Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus were isoalted more frequently from nondamaged tobacco. The fungi that occurred in the highest population in damaged tobacco were Aspergillus repens, A. niger, A. ruber, and Penicillium species. PMID:16349841

  19. [The first case of persistent vaginitis due to Aspergillus protuberus in an immunocompetent patient].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borsa, Barış Ata; Özgün, Gonca; Houbraken, Jos; Ökmen, Fırat

    2015-01-01

    ITS regions were amplified and sequenced from isolated DNA for genomic characterization. The obtained sequences were compared with the NCBI database and internal databases of the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre and confirmed as Aspergillus section Versicolores. As a result of recent changes in classification of fungi, analysis of partial β-tubulin and calmodulin sequences have also been used to obtain a detailed and precise characterization. Eventually, the strain has been identified as A.protuberus which is a recently accepted species distinct from Aspergillus section Versicolores. As the patient could not be contacted after the preliminary report, detailed demographical information, probable origin and route of transmission of the agent and prognosis of infection remained obscure. In conclusion, the first case of vaginitis caused by A.protuberus was described in this report with the support of clinical, pathological, microbiological and molecular data.

  20. Standardization of a two-step real-time polymerase chain reaction based method for species-specific detection of medically important Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, P; Pandey, P; Harishankar, A; Chandy, M; Bhattacharya, S; Chakrabarti, A

    2017-01-01

    Standardization of Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) poses two technical challenges (a) standardization of DNA extraction, (b) optimization of PCR against various medically important Aspergillus species. Many cases of aspergillosis go undiagnosed because of relative insensitivity of conventional diagnostic methods such as microscopy, culture or antigen detection. The present study is an attempt to standardize real-time PCR assay for rapid sensitive and specific detection of Aspergillus DNA in EDTA whole blood. Three nucleic acid extraction protocols were compared and a two-step real-time PCR assay was developed and validated following the recommendations of the European Aspergillus PCR Initiative in our setup. In the first PCR step (pan-Aspergillus PCR), the target was 28S rDNA gene, whereas in the second step, species specific PCR the targets were beta-tubulin (for Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus), gene and calmodulin gene (for Aspergillus niger). Species specific identification of four medically important Aspergillus species, namely, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger and A. terreus were achieved by this PCR. Specificity of the PCR was tested against 34 different DNA source including bacteria, virus, yeast, other Aspergillus sp., other fungal species and for human DNA and had no false-positive reactions. The analytical sensitivity of the PCR was found to be 102 CFU/ml. The present protocol of two-step real-time PCR assays for genus- and species-specific identification for commonly isolated species in whole blood for diagnosis of invasive Aspergillus infections offers a rapid, sensitive and specific assay option and requires clinical validation at multiple centers.

  1. Molecular Tools for the Detection and Deduction of Azole Antifungal Drug Resistance Phenotypes in Aspergillus Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudakova, Anna; Spiess, Birgit; Tangwattanachuleeporn, Marut; Sasse, Christoph; Buchheidt, Dieter; Weig, Michael; Groß, Uwe; Bader, Oliver

    2017-10-01

    The incidence of azole resistance in Aspergillus species has increased over the past years, most importantly for Aspergillus fumigatus . This is partially attributable to the global spread of only a few resistance alleles through the environment. Secondary resistance is a significant clinical concern, as invasive aspergillosis with drug-susceptible strains is already difficult to treat, and exclusion of azole-based antifungals from prophylaxis or first-line treatment of invasive aspergillosis in high-risk patients would dramatically limit drug choices, thus increasing mortality rates for immunocompromised patients. Management options for invasive aspergillosis caused by azole-resistant A. fumigatus strains were recently reevaluated by an international expert panel, which concluded that drug resistance testing of cultured isolates is highly indicated when antifungal therapy is intended. In geographical regions with a high environmental prevalence of azole-resistant strains, initial therapy should be guided by such analyses. More environmental and clinical screening studies are therefore needed to generate the local epidemiologic data if such measures are to be implemented on a sound basis. Here we propose a first workflow for evaluating isolates from screening studies, and we compile the MIC values correlating with individual amino acid substitutions in the products of cyp51 genes for interpretation of DNA sequencing data, especially in the absence of cultured isolates. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  2. Phenotypic differentiation of species from Aspergillus section Flavi on neutral red desiccated coconut agar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Atanda, O. O.; Adetunji, M. C.; Ezekiel, C. N.

    2014-01-01

    In order to facilitate easy and rapid identification of aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus species, the phenotypic traits of Aspergillus section Flavi isolates were examined on neutral red desiccated coconut agar (NRDCA). Phenotype variations in colony morphology and the relationship between colour...

  3. Removal of trace element by isolates of Aspergillus brasiliensis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Coffee beans processing generates a large volume of wastewater composed of trace elements which can be detrimental to human health. The present study aimed at evaluating the capacity of strains of Aspergillus brasiliensis and Penicillium citrinum in tolerating and removing trace elements namely: Cu, Mn and Zn from ...

  4. Cellulase Production by Aspergillus flavus Linn Isolate NSPR 101 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bagasse, corncob and sawdust were used as lignocellulosic substrates for the production of cellulase enzyme using Aspergillus flavus after ballmilling and pretreatment with caustic soda. From the fermentation studies, sawdust gave the best result with an enzyme activity value of 0.0743IU/ml while bagasse and corncob ...

  5. Methyl Red Decolorization Efficiency of a Korea Strain of Aspergillus sp. Immobilized into Different Polymeric Matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Beom-Su; Blaghen, Mohamed; Lee, Kang-Min

    2017-07-01

      Intensive research studies have revealed that fungal decolorization of dye wastewater is a promising replacement for the current process of dye wastewater decolorization. The authors isolated an Aspergillus sp. from the effluent of a textile industry area in Korea and assessed the effects of a variety of operational parameters on the decolorization of methyl red (MR) by this strain of Aspergillus sp. This Aspergillus sp. was then immobilized by entrapment in several polymeric matrices and the effects of operational conditions on MR decolorization were investigated again. The optimal decolorization activity of this Aspergillus sp. was observed in 1% glucose at a temperature of 37 °C and pH of 6.0. Furthermore, stable decolorization efficiency was observed when fungal biomass was immobilized into alginate gel during repeated batch experiment. These results suggest that the Aspergillus sp. isolated in Korea could be used to treat industrial wastewaters containing MR dye.

  6. Genetic diversity of Aspergillus fumigatus in indoor hospital environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araujo, Ricardo; Amorim, António; Gusmão, Leonor

    2010-09-01

    Environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus are less studied than those recovered from clinical sources. In the present study, the genetic diversity among such environmental isolates was assessed, as well as their dispersion ability and the acquisition of new strains in 19 medical units of the same hospital. A. fumigatus isolates were genotyped using a single multiplex PCR-based reaction with eight microsatellite markers and an insertion/deletion polymorphism. A total of 130 unique genotypes were found among a total of 250 A. fumigatus isolates. Genotypic diversity ranged from 0.86 to 1 in samples from hospital rooms, and there was no correlation between these samples and the presence of high-efficiency particulate air filters or any other air filtration system. Four of the six most prevalent A. fumigatus strains were recovered from water samples. The occurrence of microvariation was common among environmental isolates, which affected each of the microsatellite markers. The assessment of the genetic diversity of A. fumigatus is a useful tool for illustrating the presence or absence of specific clonal populations in a clinical setting. A. fumigatus populations were highly dynamic indoors, and new populations were found in just a few months. Due to the high indoor dispersion capability of A. fumigatus, more attention should be given to strains with increased pathogenic potential or reduced susceptibility to anti-fungal drugs.

  7. Fungi in spices and mycotoxigenic potential of some Aspergilli isolated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Marcelo Valle; Parussolo, Gilson; Moro, Camila Brombilla; Bernardi, Angélica Olivier; Copetti, Marina Venturini

    2018-08-01

    The aim of this study was to identify fungal species present in 200 samples of rosemary, fennel, cinnamon, clove, pepperoni, black and white pepper and oregano and evaluate the mycotoxigenic potential of the some Aspergilli isolated. Clove, black and white peppers were analyzed by direct plating. For rosemary, cinnamon, fennel, pepperoni pepper and oregano samples were used spread plate. Mycotoxigenic capacity was verified by the agar plug method. With the exception of clove, all the spices showed high fungal contamination, especially by Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp. and Cladosporium sp. Frequency of toxigenic Aspergillus spp. was intense in white and black peppers, with presence of Aspergillus flavus (up to 32%), Aspergillus nomius (up to 12%), Aspergillus parasiticus (up to 4%), Aspergillus niger complex (up to 52%), Aspergillus ochraceus (up 12%) and Aspergillus carbonarius (up to 4%). 14,2% of A. flavus isolated from black pepper were aflatoxins producers. In the white pepper, 66.7% of A. flavus isolates and 100% of A. nomius were aflatoxigenic. Oregano showed the highest number of A. niger complex isolates (49), however, only 2.04% produced ochratoxin A. This study showed a huge fungal presence in spices, which could compromise the sensorial quality of these products and represent a hazard for consumers. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. New taxa in Aspergillus section Usti

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Samson, R. A.; Varga, J.; Meijer, M.

    2011-01-01

    identical ITS sequences with A. insuetus CBS 119.27, but is clearly distinct from that species based on beta-tubulin and calmodulin sequence data. This species is unable to grow at 37 degrees C, similarly to A. keveii and A. insuetus. Aspergillus carlsbadensis sp. nov. was isolated from the Carlsbad Caverns...... National Park in New Mexico. This taxon is related to, but distinct from a dade including A. calidoustus, A. pseudodeflectus, A. insuetus and A. keveii on all trees. This species is also unable to grow at 37 degrees C, and acid production was not observed on CREA. Aspergillus californicus sp. nov....... Isolates from stored maize, South Africa, as a culture contaminant of Bipolaris sorokiniana from indoor air in Finland proved to be related to, but different from A. ustus and A. puniceus. The taxon is proposed as the new species A. pseudoustus. Although supported only by low bootstrap values, F monodii...

  9. Inhibition of aflatoxin B production of Aspergillus flavus, isolated from soybean seeds by certain natural plant products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnamurthy, Y L; Shashikala, J

    2006-11-01

    The inhibitory effect of cowdung fumes, Captan, leaf powder of Withania somnifera, Hyptis suaveolens, Eucalyptus citriodora, peel powder of Citrus sinensis, Citrus medica and Punica granatum, neem cake and pongamia cake and spore suspension of Trichoderma harzianum and Aspergillus niger on aflatoxin B(1) production by toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus isolated from soybean seeds was investigated. Soybean seed was treated with different natural products and fungicide captan and was inoculated with toxigenic strain of A. flavus and incubated for different periods. The results showed that all the treatments were effective in controlling aflatoxin B(1) production. Captan, neem cake, spore suspension of T. harzianum, A. niger and combination of both reduced the level of aflatoxin B(1) to a great extent. Leaf powder of W. somnifera, H. suaveolens, peel powder of C. sinensis, C. medica and pongamia cake also controlled the aflatoxin B(1) production. All the natural product treatments applied were significantly effective in inhibiting aflatoxin B(1) production on soybean seeds by A. flavus. These natural plant products may successfully replace chemical fungicides and provide an alternative method to protect soybean and other agricultural commodities from aflatoxin B(1) production by A. flavus.

  10. optimization of process parameters for lovastatin production under solid-state fermentation from ground corn cobs by gamma irradiated aspergillus tamarri isolate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattar, Z.A.; Khalaf, M.A.; Meleigy, S.A.

    2010-01-01

    rapid screening method is demonstrated for isolating lovastatin overproducing strains of gamma irradiated aspergillus tamarri. the screening methodology, based on the activity of lovastatin against the yeast candida albicans. among 24 gamma irradiated isolates of a. tamarri, the isolate G-8 was selected as best producer for lovastatin. solid state fermentation (SSF)was evaluated to produce lovastatin by a. tamarri G-8 isolate using ground corn cobs as substrate. monofactorial experiments were adopted to optimize the fermentation conditions. various crucial parameters such as particle size, moisture content, ph, temperature, inoculum size and incubation time were derived. corn cobs of particle size 0.4 mm having moisture level of 60 % and ph 5 gave the highest yield of lovastatin (12.4 mg/gram dry substrate) when inoculated with a. tamarri G-8 at inoculum size 10 % and 28 degree C for 8 days.

  11. Performance of Molecular Approaches for Aspergillus Detection and Azole Resistance Surveillance in Cystic Fibrosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hélène Guegan

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus fumigatus triazole resistance is an emerging concern for treating chronically infected/colonized patients. This study sought to evaluate the performance of PCR assays to detect Aspergillus fungi together with azole resistance in sputum samples from cystic fibrosis (CF patients. In total, 119 sputum samples from 87 CF patients were prospectively processed for Aspergillus detection by means of mycological culture and four qPCR assays, 2 in-house methods and two commercial multiplex real-time PCR assays simultaneously detecting Aspergillus and the most relevant cyp51A gene mutations (MycoGENIE® and AsperGenius®. Azole susceptibility of A. fumigatus isolates was assessed using Etest® method and cyp51A gene mutation were characterized by sequencing. The overall rate of Aspergillus detection with the four qPCR assays ranged from 47.9 to 57.1%, contrasting with 42/119 (35.3% positive cultures with A. fumigatus. The high sensitivity of PCR on sputum could then contribute to more effective grading of Aspergillus disease in CF patients. Five out of 41 isolated strains (12.2% exhibited azole-resistant MIC patterns, three of which harbored cyp51A mutations and only 1/3 with the sequence TR34/L98H. Combined with culture, PCR assay achieved high sensitivity Aspergillus screening in CF samples. However, cyp51A targeting was only moderately effective for azole resistance monitoring, while Aspergillus resistance remains of great concern.

  12. Aflatoxin B1 producing potential of Aspergillus flavus strains isolated ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-07-20

    Jul 20, 2009 ... consumption of aflatoxin contaminated food and feed. (Reddy and ..... intervals by artificial inoculation of A. parasiticus on rice grains. ... additive for culture media for rapid identification of aflatoxin producing. Aspergillus strains ...

  13. Aspergillus triggers phenazine production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Britt Guillaume; Jelsbak, Lars; Søndergaard, Ib

    in the contact area of A. niger, A. flavus, A. oryzae, but not A. fumigatus. In addition, other metabolites with UV chromophores similar to the phenazines were only found in the contact zone between Aspergillus and Pseudomonas. No change in secondary metabolite profiles were seen for the Aspergilli, when......Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen, commonly infecting cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Aspergilli, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, are also frequently isolated from CF patients. Our aim was to examine the possible interaction between P. aeruginosa and different...... Aspergillus species. Methods: A suspension of fungal spores was streaked onto WATM agar plates. After 24 hours incubation at 37 °C, a P. aeruginosa overnight culture was streaked out perpendicular to the fungal streak. The plates were incubated at 37 °C for five days, examined and plugs were extracted...

  14. Variation in fumonisin and ochratoxin production associated with differences in biosynthetic gene content in Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae isolates from multiple crop and geographic origins

    Science.gov (United States)

    The fungi Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae are morphologically indistinguishable species used for industrial fermentation and for food and beverage production. The fungi also occur widely on food crops. Concerns about their safety have arisen with the discovery that some isolates of both specie...

  15. Performance of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Identification of Aspergillus, Scedosporium, and Fusarium spp. in the Australian Clinical Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleiman, Sue; Halliday, Catriona L; Chapman, Belinda; Brown, Mitchell; Nitschke, Joanne; Lau, Anna F; Chen, Sharon C-A

    2016-08-01

    We developed an Australian database for the identification of Aspergillus, Scedosporium, and Fusarium species (n = 28) by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). In a challenge against 117 isolates, species identification significantly improved when the in-house-built database was combined with the Bruker Filamentous Fungi Library compared with that for the Bruker library alone (Aspergillus, 93% versus 69%; Fusarium, 84% versus 42%; and Scedosporium, 94% versus 18%, respectively). Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  16. [Indoor fungal exposure: What impact on clinical and biological status regarding Aspergillus during cystic fibrosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pricope, D; Deneuville, E; Frain, S; Chevrier, S; Belaz, S; Roussey, M; Gangneux, J-P

    2015-06-01

    The sources of exposure during diseases due to Aspergillus fungi in cystic fibrosis patients are still poorly explored. We assessed home fungal exposure in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and analysed its impact on the presence of Aspergillus biological markers, the colonisation of airways, as well as the sensitization and Aspergillus serology. Between March 2012 and August 2012, 34 patients benefited from a visit performed by a home environment medical adviser including sampling for mycological analysis. The number of colonies of Aspergillus was not significantly different in the various sampling sites (P=0.251), but the number of non-Aspergillus colonies was much higher in the kitchen (P=0.0045). Subsequently, home fungal exposure was compared between the groups "absence of Aspergillus-related markers" and "presence of Aspergillus-related markers". Home exposure to Aspergillus (P=0.453) and non-Aspergillus (P=0.972) flora was not significant between the 2 groups. Within this series of 34 patients that should be expanded, we note an absence of clear relationship between home exposure and the Aspergillus-linked markers in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. This result should be taken into account regarding too restrictive hygiene advices provided to families, given the fact that fungal exposure can also results from activities performed away from home. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Phosphate solubilizing ability of two Arctic Aspergillus niger strains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiv Mohan Singh,

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Many filamentous fungi were isolated from the soils of Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, and were screened in vitro for their phosphate solubilizing ability. Two strains of Aspergillus niger showed good tricalcium phosphate (TCP solubilizing ability in Pikovskaya's medium. The TCP solubilization index was calculated at varying levels of pH and temperatures. The ability of Aspergillus niger strain-1 to solubilize and release inorganic-P was 285 µg ml–1, while Aspergillus niger strain-2 solubilized 262 µg ml–1 from 0.5% TCP after seven days. This is the first report of TCP solubilization by Arctic strains that may serve as very good phosphate solubilizers in the form of biofertilizer.

  18. Production of catalases by Aspergillus niger isolates as a response to pollutant stress by heavy metals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buckova, M.; Godocikova, J.; Simonovicova, A.; Polek, B. [Slovakian Academy of Science, Bratislava (Slovakia)

    2005-04-15

    Isolates of Aspergillus niger, selected from the coal dust of a mine containing arsenic (As; 400 mg/kg) and from the river sediment of mine surroundings (As, 1651 mg/kg, Sb, 362 mg/kg), growing in minimal nitrate medium in the phase of hyphal development and spore formation, exhibited much higher levels of total catalase activity than the same species from the culture collection or a culture adapted to soil contaminated with As (5 mg/L). Electrophoretic resolution of catalases in cell-free extracts revealed three isozymes of catalases and production of individual isozymes was not significantly affected by stress environments. Exogenously added stressors (As{sup 5+}, Cd{sup 2+}, Cu{sup 2+}) at final concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/L and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} (20 or 40 m(M)) mostly stimulated production of catalases only in isolates from mines surroundings, and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} and Hg{sup 2+} caused the disappearance of the smallest catalase I. Isolates exhibited a higher tolerance of the toxic effects of heavy metals and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, as monitored by growth, than did the strain from the culture collection.

  19. Aspergillus Associated with Meju, a Fermented Soybean Starting Material for Traditional Soy Sauce and Soybean Paste in Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Hong, Seung-Beom; Kim, Dae-Ho; Samson, Robert A.

    2015-01-01

    Aspergillus is an important fungal genus used for the fermentation of Asian foods; this genus is referred to as koji mold in Japan and China. A. oryzae, A. sojae, and A. tamari are used in the production of miso and shoyu in Japan, but a comprehensive taxonomic study of Aspergillus isolated from Meju, a fermented soybean starting material for traditional soy sauce and soybean paste in Korea, has not been conducted. In this study, various Aspergillus species were isolated during a study of the...

  20. A novel pathway for nicotine degradation by Aspergillus oryzae 112822 isolated from tobacco leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xiang Jing; Lu, Li Li; Gu, Guo Feng; Xiao, Min

    2010-09-01

    An efficient nicotine-degrading fungus was isolated from tobacco leaves and identified as Aspergillus oryzae 112822 based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of 18S rDNA, 5.8S rDNA and the internal transcribed spacer (5.8S-ITS region). When the strain was cultured in a medium with tobacco leaf extract for 40 h, the maximum amount of cell growth was 3.6 g l(-1) and nicotine degradation was 2.19 g l(-1). The intermediates of nicotine degradation by resting cells were isolated by preparative TLC or semi-preparative HPLC, and identified by TLC, MS, NMR, Fourier-transform (FT)-IR and GC-MS analysis. The pathway for nicotine degradation in A. oryzae 112822 was proposed to be from nicotine to 2,3-dihydroxypyridine through the intermediates nornicotine, myosmine, N-methylnicotinamide and 2-hydroxy-N-methylnicotinamide. The ring of 2,3-dihydroxypyridine was opened between the 2- and 3-hydroxy positions to yield succinic acid. N-methylnicotinamide and 2,3-dihydroxypyridine were satisfactorily verified as metabolites of nicotine degradation. This is the first elucidation of a pathway for nicotine degradation in fungi. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Studies on Aspergillus flavus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padwal-Desai, S.R.; Ghanekar, A.S.; Sreenivasan, A.

    1976-01-01

    In vitro studies were conducted on conidia of Aspergillus flavus Link (aflatoxin producing) and Aspergillus flavus oryzae (non-toxigenic) strains isolated and identified in this laboratory. These strains differed in resistance to heat and gamma radiation, the toxigenic strain being more resistant to both treatments. Results of tests on dose-modifying factors indicated that composition, temperature and pH of suspending media affected radiation resistance. On the other hand, the size of the initial population and the age of the conidia did not influence the radiation resistance of either strain. Studies on thermal inactivation of the conidia suggested that the temperature employed was more important than the time of heat treatment. Conidia of both strains showed a synergistic effect of combined heat and radiation treatments, although a heat-radiation sequence was more effective than a radiation-heat sequence. (author)

  2. Isolation and Identification of Spoilage Fungi Associated With Rice ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The spoilage fungi isolated were Aspergillus species, Rhizopus, Penicilluim, Fusarium, Eurotium, Mucor, Geotrichum, Alternaria, Cladosporium and Actinomyces species. The predominant spoilage fungi in the grains were Aspergillus species. The populations of some spoilage fungi isolated from the grains were not high ...

  3. Bacterial and Aspergillus spp. Contamination of Domestic Kitchens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alwakeel, Suaad S.

    2007-01-01

    A randomized sampling of 50 households in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia was conducted to determine microbial and Aspergillus spp contaminants in domestic kitchens between May and June 2006. Samples were taken from open air in the kitchen and from used kitchen sponges. Inoculation procedures were varied from direct inoculation of the sponge into the medium to dilution of a cut portion of the sponge. A total of 200 samples were taken from which, 700 culture plates were done (BAP and Nutrient agar). Identification by the API system of identification (Analytical Profile Index, BioMerieux) revealed Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacter cloacae, Diphtheroids and Bacillus cereus, Aspergillus spp. was isolated and identified microscopically. Among the isolates, Staphylococcus epidermidis , Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 90% of the plates followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (83%) , Klebsiella pneumonia ; Bacillus cereus (63%).and Aspergillus spp (15%) These opportunistic pathogens may be harmful especially in immunocompromised hosts. In this setting, there is a constant risk of contamination and transfer to willing hosts, thus appropriate measures should be implemented such as the use of disposable sponges. (author)

  4. Morphological Characterization and Determination of Aflatoxin-Production Potentials of Aspergillus flavus Isolated from Maize and Soil in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matome Gabriel Thathana

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at morphologically identifying Aspergillus flavus in soil and maize and at determining their aflatoxin-producing potentials. Five hundred and fourteen isolates obtained from maize and soil in Kenya were cultivated on Czapeck Dox Agar, Malt Extract Agar, Sabouraud Dextrose Agar, Potato Dextrose Agar, and Rose-Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar. Isolates were identified using macro-morphological characteristics. Micromorphological characteristics were determined using slide cultures. Aflatoxin production was determined by direct visual determination of the UV fluorescence of colonies on Coconut Agar Medium, Yeast Extract Sucrose agar, and Yeast Extract Cyclodextrin Sodium Deoxycholate agar and by Thin Layer Chromatography. Forty-three presumptive A. flavus isolates were identified; aflatoxin was detected in 23% of the isolates by UV fluorescence screening and in 30% by Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC. The aflatoxins produced were: aflatoxin B1 (AFB1, aflatoxin B2 (AFB2, and aflatoxin G1 (AFG1; some isolates produced only AFB1, whereas others produced either AFB1 and AFB2 or AFB1 and AFG1. The highest incidence of A. flavus (63% and aflatoxin production (28% was recorded in samples from Makueni District. Isolates from Uasin Gishu (21% and Nyeri (5% were non-aflatoxigenic. Bungoma District recorded 11% positive isolates of which 2% were aflatoxin producers. The occurrence of aflatoxin-producing A. flavus emphasises the need for measures to eliminate their presence in food crops.

  5. Isolation of novel indole diterpenes and dihydrodibenzofuran from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Twelve secondary metabolites were earlier isolated from two marine-derived fungal strains, Aspergillus sp. AF-119 and Aspergillus sp. JQG a-6f. The objectives of this investigation were to isolate and purify natural products produced in these fungi, and identify possible drug candidates. The chemical structures of these ...

  6. Thermostable crude endoglucanase produced by Aspergillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cellulases are used in many industries worldwide and there is an ever increasing need to isolate, produce or develop thermostable cellulases. Manipulation of fermentation techniques in order to obtain desirable product(s) can be one line of action. In this study Aspergillus fumigatus was grown on chopped wheat straw in a ...

  7. Potent synergistic in vitro interaction between nonantimicrobial membrane-active compounds and itraconazole against clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus resistant to itraconazole.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Afeltra, J.; Vitale, R.G.; Mouton, J.W.; Verweij, P.E.

    2004-01-01

    To develop new approaches for the treatment of invasive infections caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, the in vitro interactions between itraconazole (ITZ) and seven different nonantimicrobial membrane-active compounds--amiodarone (AMD), amiloride, lidocaine, lansoprazole (LAN), nifedipine (NIF),

  8. Glucoamylase production by a newly isolated strain of Aspergillus niger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinkar, V.P.; Lewis, N.F.

    1982-01-01

    Glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger 57 was studied in complex and synthetic media under stationary vs. submerged conditions. Stationary cultivation resulted in significantly greater yields than did submerged culture. Crude enzyme activity was optimum at 60 degrees and pH 4.0.

  9. Characterization of metabolites from a strain of Aspergillus flavus accumulating aflatoxin B2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutton, M.F.

    1985-01-01

    A number of aflatoxins and anthraquinone pigments were isolated from a strain of Aspergillus flavus, several of which were fully characterized. The major metabolites isolated were aflatoxin B 2 and versicolorin C, which are normally only found as minor products from species of the genus Aspergillus. The identification of these products supports the proposal that aflatoxin B 2 can arise independently of aflatoxin B 1 and that, in this case, the branch in the pathway occurs at the versicolorins. Other metabolites charaterized were aflatoxin M 2 , norsolorinic acid, and averufin

  10. Effect of gamma irradiation on growth and aflatoxin production by certain local aflatoxigenic isolates of aspergillus flavus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammad, A.A.I.; Atalla, M.A.; El-Shayeb, N.M.A.; Ahmed, A.A.; Zeinat, Kamel

    1998-01-01

    The radiation D 1 0 values of two aflatoxigenic isolates of aspergillus flavus (No. 1 and No. 184) were determined. The D 1 0 -value of A. flavus isolate No.1 was found to be 0.43 and 0.50 kGy in physiological saline soulution and smoked herrings, while the D 1 0 - value of A. SFlavus isolateNo. 184 was 0.53 and -0.62 KGy in saline solution and raisins, respectively. The irradiated (0.05, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 KGy) and non-irradiated spores of two fungi were separately inoculated into rice-corn steep liquor and incubated at 28 degree C for 12 days. The fungal mycelial dry weight, as a function of growth, decreased with increasing gamma irradiation doses. Irradiation doses used gratly reduced aflatoxins formation. Smoked herrings and raisins were inoculated with spores of A. flavus isolated No.1 and No.184, respectively, then irradiated at 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 KGy and stored for two months at room temperature. It was found that a gamma irradiation dose of 1.5 KGy greatly reduced the amount of aflatoxins produced, while 3.0 and 4.5 KGy completely prevented aflatoxin formation

  11. Isolation of an Antioxidative Substance Produced by Aspergillus repens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagi, R; Doi, M

    1999-01-01

    The acidic fraction of an extract of the culture liquid of Aspergillus repens MA0197 showed strong antioxidative activity when tested by the ferric thiocyanate and TBA methods. Chromatographic purification of this acidic fraction gave an active substance identified as Neoechinulin A. This compound showed higher antioxidative activity than α-tocopherol and could be expected to act as an antioxidant in Katsuobushi.

  12. Novofumigatonin, a New Orthoester Meroterpenoid from Aspergillus novofumigatus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rank, Christian; Phipps, Richard Kerry; Harris, Pernille

    2008-01-01

    Novofumigatonin (1), a new metabolite, has been isolated from Aspergillus novofumigatus. The structure and relative stereochemistry were determined from HR ESI MS, one- and two-dimensional NMR, and single-crystal X-ray analysis. The absolute configuration was assigned using vibrational circular...

  13. Influence of the host contact sequence on the outcome of competition among aspergillus flavus isolates during host tissue invasion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehl, H L; Cotty, P J

    2011-03-01

    Biological control of aflatoxin contamination by Aspergillus flavus is achieved through competitive exclusion of aflatoxin producers by atoxigenic strains. Factors dictating the extent to which competitive displacement occurs during host infection are unknown. The role of initial host contact in competition between pairs of A. flavus isolates coinfecting maize kernels was examined. Isolate success during tissue invasion and reproduction was assessed by quantification of isolate-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms using pyrosequencing. Isolates were inoculated either simultaneously or 1 h apart. Increased success during competition was conferred to the first isolate to contact the host independent of that isolate's innate competitive ability. The first-isolate advantage decreased with the conidial concentration, suggesting capture of limited resources on kernel surfaces contributes to competitive exclusion. Attempts to modify access to putative attachment sites by either coating kernels with dead conidia or washing kernels with solvents did not influence the success of the first isolate, suggesting competition for limited attachment sites on kernel surfaces does not mediate first-isolate advantage. The current study is the first to demonstrate an immediate competitive advantage conferred to A. flavus isolates upon host contact and prior to either germ tube emergence or host colonization. This suggests the timing of host contact is as important to competition during disease cycles as innate competitive ability. Early dispersal to susceptible crop components may allow maintenance within A. flavus populations of genetic types with low competitive ability during host tissue invasion.

  14. Production and Purification of Peroxidase from Aspergillus niger.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed A. Jebor

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted in the laboratories of Biology Department, College of Science, which deals with isolation and purification of peroxidase and optimization of process parameters to achieve maximum yield of peroxidase by Aspergillus niger. Solid-state fermentation of Aspergillus niger was carried out for enhanced production of peroxidase using hydrogen peroxide as the substrate of enzyme maximum activity of the enzyme was achieved under optimum growth conditions. The optimum conditions were the isolated of Aspergillus niger from soil and growth in synthetic medium, it gave high titer of peroxidase activity, the fructose as carbon source, peptone as nitrogen source, after 12 days of incubation, incubation temperature 25 °C and pH = 6.5. Peroxidase purified in four purification steps; precipitation with 70% saturation of ammonium sulfate, step of dialysis, the third by ion exchange chromatography using DEAE-Cellulose and fourth by gel filtration throughout Sephadex G-100. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 150U/mg with 7.75 folds. The peroxidase was shown to have molecular weight of 40kDa in SDS-PAGA and about 40kDa in gel filtration.The optimum pH and temperature for peroxidase activity 7 and 35 C0 respectively.

  15. Aspergillus Section Fumigati Typing by PCR-Restriction Fragment Polymorphism▿

    OpenAIRE

    Staab, Janet F.; Balajee, S. Arunmozhi; Marr, Kieren A.

    2009-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that there are multiple clinically important members of the Aspergillus section Fumigati that are difficult to distinguish on the basis of morphological features (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus, A. lentulus, and Neosartorya udagawae). Identification of these organisms may be clinically important, as some species vary in their susceptibilities to antifungal agents. In a prior study, we utilized multilocus sequence typing to describe A. lentulus as a species distinct from...

  16. Growth and hydrolase profiles can be used as characteristics to distinguish Aspergillus niger and other black aspergilli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijer, M.; Houbraken, J.A.M.P.; Dalhuijsen, S.; Samson, R.A.; de Vries, R.P.

    2011-01-01

    Wild type Aspergillus niger isolates from different biotopes from all over the world were compared to each other and to the type strains of other black Aspergillus species with respect to growth and extracellular enzyme profiles. The origin of the A. niger isolate did not result in differences in growth profile with respect to monomeric or polymeric carbon sources. Differences were observed in the growth rate of the A. niger isolates, but these were observed on all carbon sources and not specific for a particular carbon source. In contrast, carbon source specific differences were observed between the different species. Aspergillus brasiliensis is the only species able to grow on D-galactose, and A. aculeatus had significantly better growth on Locus Bean gum than the other species. Only small differences were found in the extracellular enzyme profile of the A. niger isolates during growth on wheat bran, while large differences were observed in the profiles of the different black aspergilli. In addition, differences were observed in temperature profiles between the black Aspergillus species, but not between the A. niger isolates, demonstrating no isolate-specific adaptations to the environment. These data indicate that the local environment does not result in stable adaptations of A. niger with respect to growth profile or enzyme production, but that the potential is maintained irrespective of the environmental parameters. It also demonstrates that growth, extracellular protein and temperature profiles can be used for species identification within the group of black aspergilli. PMID:21892240

  17. Ochratoxin A production by strains of Aspergillus niger var. niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abarca, M L; Bragulat, M R; Castellá, G; Cabañes, F J

    1994-01-01

    In a survey of the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OA)-positive strains isolated from feedstuffs, two of the 19 isolates of Aspergillus niger var. niger that were studied produced OA in 2% yeast extract-15% sucrose broth and in corn cultures. This is the first report of production of OA by this species. PMID:8074536

  18. Aspergillus: introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Species in the genus Aspergillus possess versatile metabolic activities that impact our daily life both positively and negatively. Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus oryzae are closely related fungi. While the former is able to produce carcinogenic aflatoxins and is an etiological agent of aspergill...

  19. Effect of Aspergillus versicolor strain JASS1 on low density polyethylene degradation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajendiran, A.; Subramani, S.; Abraham, J.

    2017-11-01

    Low density polyethylene (LDPE) waste disposal remains one of the major environmental concerns faced by the world today. In past decades, major focus has been given to enhance the biodegradation of LDPE by microbial species. In this present study, Aspergillus versicolor with the ability to degrade LDPE was isolated from municipal landfill area using enrichment technique. Based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing confirmed its identity as Aspergillus versicolor. The biodegradation study was carried out for 90 d in M1 medium. The degradation behaviour of LDPE films by Aspergillus versicolor strain JASS1 were confirmed by weight loss, CO2 evolution, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique. From current investigation, it can be concluded that our isolated strain JASS1 had the potential to degrade LDPE films and it can be useful in solving the problem caused by polyethylene in the environment.

  20. A survey on distribution and toxigenicity of Aspergillus flavus from indoor and outdoor hospital environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepahvand, Asghar; Shams-Ghahfarokhi, Masoomeh; Allameh, Abdolamir; Jahanshiri, Zahra; Jamali, Mojdeh; Razzaghi-Abyaneh, Mehdi

    2011-11-01

    In the present study, genetic diversity and mycotoxin profiles of Aspergillus flavus isolated from air (indoors and outdoors), levels (surfaces), and soils of five hospitals in Southwest Iran were examined. From a total of 146 Aspergillus colonies, 63 isolates were finally identified as A. flavus by a combination of colony morphology, microscopic criteria, and mycotoxin profiles. No Aspergillus parasiticus was isolated from examined samples. Chromatographic analyses of A. flavus isolates cultured on yeast extract-sucrose broth by tip culture method showed that approximately 10% and 45% of the isolates were able to produce aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), respectively. Around 40% of the isolates produced sclerotia on Czapek-Dox agar. The isolates were classified into four chemotypes based on the ability to produce AF and CPA that majority of them (55.5%) belonged to chemotype IV comprising non-mycotoxigenic isolates. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles generated by a combination of four selected primers were used to assess genetic relatedness of 16 selected toxigenic and non-toxigenic isolates. The resulting dendrogram demonstrated the formation of two separate clusters for the A. flavus comprised both mycotoxigenic and non-toxigenic isolates in a random distribution. The obtained results in this study showed that RAPD profiling is a promising and efficient tool to determine intra-specific genetic variation among A. flavus populations from hospital environments. A. flavus isolates, either toxigenic or non-toxigenic, should be considered as potential threats for hospitalized patients due to their obvious role in the etiology of nosocomial aspergillosis.

  1. Comparative Genome Analysis Between Aspergillus oryzae Strains Reveals Close Relationship Between Sites of Mutation Localization and Regions of Highly Divergent Genes among Aspergillus Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umemura, Myco; Koike, Hideaki; Yamane, Noriko; Koyama, Yoshinori; Satou, Yuki; Kikuzato, Ikuya; Teruya, Morimi; Tsukahara, Masatoshi; Imada, Yumi; Wachi, Youji; Miwa, Yukino; Yano, Shuichi; Tamano, Koichi; Kawarabayasi, Yutaka; Fujimori, Kazuhiro E.; Machida, Masayuki; Hirano, Takashi

    2012-01-01

    Aspergillus oryzae has been utilized for over 1000 years in Japan for the production of various traditional foods, and a large number of A. oryzae strains have been isolated and/or selected for the effective fermentation of food ingredients. Characteristics of genetic alterations among the strains used are of particular interest in studies of A. oryzae. Here, we have sequenced the whole genome of an industrial fungal isolate, A. oryzae RIB326, by using a next-generation sequencing system and compared the data with those of A. oryzae RIB40, a wild-type strain sequenced in 2005. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutation pressure on the non-syntenic blocks (NSBs) of the genome, which were previously identified through comparative genomic analysis of A. oryzae, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus nidulans. We found that genes within the NSBs of RIB326 accumulate mutations more frequently than those within the SBs, regardless of their distance from the telomeres or of their expression level. Our findings suggest that the high mutation frequency of NSBs might contribute to maintaining the diversity of the A. oryzae genome. PMID:22912434

  2. Comparative genome analysis between Aspergillus oryzae strains reveals close relationship between sites of mutation localization and regions of highly divergent genes among Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umemura, Myco; Koike, Hideaki; Yamane, Noriko; Koyama, Yoshinori; Satou, Yuki; Kikuzato, Ikuya; Teruya, Morimi; Tsukahara, Masatoshi; Imada, Yumi; Wachi, Youji; Miwa, Yukino; Yano, Shuichi; Tamano, Koichi; Kawarabayasi, Yutaka; Fujimori, Kazuhiro E; Machida, Masayuki; Hirano, Takashi

    2012-10-01

    Aspergillus oryzae has been utilized for over 1000 years in Japan for the production of various traditional foods, and a large number of A. oryzae strains have been isolated and/or selected for the effective fermentation of food ingredients. Characteristics of genetic alterations among the strains used are of particular interest in studies of A. oryzae. Here, we have sequenced the whole genome of an industrial fungal isolate, A. oryzae RIB326, by using a next-generation sequencing system and compared the data with those of A. oryzae RIB40, a wild-type strain sequenced in 2005. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutation pressure on the non-syntenic blocks (NSBs) of the genome, which were previously identified through comparative genomic analysis of A. oryzae, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus nidulans. We found that genes within the NSBs of RIB326 accumulate mutations more frequently than those within the SBs, regardless of their distance from the telomeres or of their expression level. Our findings suggest that the high mutation frequency of NSBs might contribute to maintaining the diversity of the A. oryzae genome.

  3. Occurrence and biodiversity of Aspergillus section Nigri on 'Tannat' grapes in Uruguay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garmendia, Gabriela; Vero, Silvana

    2016-01-04

    Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin which has been found worldwide as a contaminant in wines. It is produced on grapes mainly by molds from Aspergillus section Nigri. This study has demonstrated for the first time the occurrence of black aspergilli on Tannat grapes from Uruguay, in a two year survey. Aspergillus uvarum (uniseriate) and Aspergillus welwitschiae (from Aspergillusniger aggregate) were the prevalent species whereas Aspergillus carbonarius which is considered the main OTA producing species was not detected. OTA production in culture medium was evaluated for native isolates from A. niger aggregate and compared to levels produced by a type strain of A. carbonarius. This work also includes the development of quick and easy molecular methods to identify black aspergilli to species level, avoiding sequencing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Aspergillus Associated with Meju, a Fermented Soybean Starting Material for Traditional Soy Sauce and Soybean Paste in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Seung-Beom; Kim, Dae-Ho; Samson, Robert A

    2015-09-01

    Aspergillus is an important fungal genus used for the fermentation of Asian foods; this genus is referred to as koji mold in Japan and China. A. oryzae, A. sojae, and A. tamari are used in the production of miso and shoyu in Japan, but a comprehensive taxonomic study of Aspergillus isolated from Meju, a fermented soybean starting material for traditional soy sauce and soybean paste in Korea, has not been conducted. In this study, various Aspergillus species were isolated during a study of the mycobiota of Meju, and the aspergilli were identified based on phenotypic characteristics and sequencing of the β-tubulin gene. Most strains of Aspergillus were found to belong to the following sections: Aspergillus (n = 220), Flavi (n = 213), and Nigri (n = 54). The most commonly identified species were A. oryzae (n = 183), A. pseudoglaucus (Eurotium repens) (n = 81), A. chevalieri (E. chevalieri) (n = 62), A. montevidensis (E. amstelodami) (n = 34), A. niger (n = 21), A. tamari (n = 15), A. ruber (E. rubrum) (n = 15), A. proliferans (n = 14), and A. luchuensis (n = 14); 25 species were identified from 533 Aspergillus strains. Aspergillus strains were mainly found during the high temperature fermentation period in the later steps of Meju fermentation.

  5. Characteristics of culture-positive invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with hematologic diseases: Comparison between Aspergillus fumigatus and non-fumigatus Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Sung-Yeon; Lee, Dong-Gun; Choi, Jae-Ki; Lee, Hyo-Jin; Kim, Si-Hyun; Park, Sun Hee; Choi, Su-Mi; Choi, Jung-Hyun; Yoo, Jin-Hong; Park, Yeon-Joon; Lee, Jong-Wook

    2017-12-01

    While the epidemiology and clinical differences of various Candida spp. has been relatively well-identified, data regarding invasive aspergillosis (IA) caused by different Aspergillus spp. are insufficient.We aimed to determine the epidemiology of culture-positive invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) and to compare the characteristics and outcomes of Aspergillus fumigatus IPA with those of non-fumigatus IPA in patients with hematologic diseases. All consecutive cases of IPA from 2011 to 2015 were reviewed retrospectively.There were 430 proven/probable IPA and 76 culture-positive proven/probable IPA. Excluding cases of multiple species of fungi or cases having difficulties in species-level identification, 41 A fumigatus and 22 non-fumigatus IPA (Aspergillus flavus [n = 11], Aspergillus niger [n = 6], and Aspergillus terreus [n = 5]) were compared. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the 2 groups. However, disseminated IA was more common in non-fumigatus IPA (2.4% vs 18.2%; P = .046). Paranasal sinus (PNS) involvement was more common in non-fumigatus IPA. There was a trend towards higher peak serum galactomannan values in non-fumigatus IPA than in A fumigatus IPA group (median 1.33 [interquartile 0.98-3.29] vs 0.97 [0.66-1.97]; P = .084). Clinical response and mortality did not differ between groups.The culture-positive rate of proven/probable IPA was 17.7%, of which non-fumigatus Aspergillus accounted for about one-third. Disseminated IA, especially involving the PNS, was more frequent in non-fumigatus IPA than in A fumigatus IPA.

  6. Workflow to study genetic biodiversity of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. in Georgia, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peanut seeds were sampled from the entire state of Georgia in 2014. More than 600 isolates of Aspergillus spp. were collected using modified-dichloran rose Bengal (MDRB) medium, 240 of those isolates were fingerprinted with 25 InDel markers within the aflatoxin-biosynthesis gene cluster (ABC). Clust...

  7. A Simple Procedure to Evaluate Competitiveness of Toxigenic and Atoxigenic Isolates of Aspergillus flavus in Solid and Liquid Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Moradi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Application of atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus to reduce aflatoxin levels is the most successful strategy applied in some agricultural crops. The role of ammonium hydroxide for preliminary screening of the competitiveness of atoxigenic A. flavus isolates to interfere with aflatoxin production by highly toxigenic isolates were evaluated. Out of 270 A. flavus isolates, 17 were detected as true atoxigenic using cultural methods and confirmed by analytical assays from different pistachio agro-ecological zones during 2013. For assessment competitive ability among atoxigenic isolates of A. flavus with highly toxigenic one, rice flour, coconut agar and coconut broth medium substrates were inoculated with mixtures including combinations of toxigenic and atoxigenic isolates, simultaneously. The rice flour substrate was used to quantify the content of aflatoxin in either co-inoculations or toxigenic isolate alone on thin layer chromatography plates with a scanning densitometer. While the culture media were used to determine the intensity of color change on exposing to ammonium hydroxide vapor. The reduction rates of aflatoxin B1 in co-inoculations were varied and ranged from 2%-82%. Based on the intensity of colony color changes, the competitiveness of the isolates was classified into five groups. Atoxigenic isolates with high competitiveness have shown low color changes in culture media and high aflatoxin reduction in TLC assays with a ratio of higher than 78%. The method will facilitate preliminary screening of efficient atoxigenic isolates for mitigation of aflatoxins in food and feed as a cheap, simple and quick method.

  8. Simple and highly discriminatory VNTR-based multiplex PCR for tracing sources of Aspergillus flavus isolates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Ying Wang

    Full Text Available Aspergillus flavus is second only to A. fumigatus in causing invasive aspergillosis and it is the major agent responsible for fungal sinusitis, keratitis and endophthalmitis in many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. Despite the growing challenge due to A. flavus, data on the molecular epidemiology of this fungus remain scarce. The objective of the present study was to develop a new typing method based on the detection of VNTR (Variable number tandem repeat markers. Eight VNTR markers located on 6 different chromosomes (1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 of A. flavus were selected, combined by pairs for multiplex amplifications and tested on 30 unrelated isolates and six reference strains. The Simpson index for individual markers ranged from 0.398 to 0.818. A combined loci index calculated with all the markers yielded an index of 0.998. The MLVA (Multiple Locus VNTR Analysis technique proved to be specific and reproducible. In a second time, a total of 55 isolates from Chinese avian farms and from a Tunisian hospital have been evaluated. One major cluster of genotypes could be defined by using the graphing algorithm termed Minimum Spanning Tree. This cluster comprised most of the isolates collected in an avian farm in southern China. The MLVA technique should be considered as an excellent and cost-effective typing method that could be used in many laboratories without the need for sophisticated equipment.

  9. Two new aflatoxin producing species, and an overview of Aspergillus section Flavi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Varga, J.; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Samson, R. A.

    2011-01-01

    this section. The data indicate that Aspergillus section Flavi involves 22 species, which can be grouped into seven clades. Two new species, A. pseudocaelatus sp. nov. and A. pseudonomius sp. nov. have been discovered, and can be distinguished from other species in this section based on sequence data...... and extrolite profiles. Aspergillus pseudocaelatus is represented by a single isolate collected from Arachis burkartii leaf in Argentina, is closely related to the non-aflatoxin producing A. caelatus, and produces aflatoxins B & G, cyclopiazonic acid and kojic acid, while A. pseudonomius was isolated from...... insects and soil in the USA. This species is related to A. nomius, and produces aflatoxin B-1 (but not G-type aflatoxins), chrysogine and kojic acid. In order to prove the aflatoxin producing abilities of the isolates, phylogenetic analysis of three genes taking part in aflatoxin biosynthesis, including...

  10. Deletion of creB in Aspergillus oryzae increases secreted hydrolytic enzyme activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, A J; Morris, T A; Jin, B; Saint, C P; Kelly, J M

    2013-09-01

    Aspergillus oryzae has been used in the food and beverage industry for centuries, and industrial strains have been produced by multiple rounds of selection. Targeted gene deletion technology is particularly useful for strain improvement in such strains, particularly when they do not have a well-characterized meiotic cycle. Phenotypes of an Aspergillus nidulans strain null for the CreB deubiquitinating enzyme include effects on growth and repression, including increased activity levels of various enzymes. We show that Aspergillus oryzae contains a functional homologue of the CreB deubiquitinating enzyme and that a null strain shows increased activity levels of industrially important secreted enzymes, including cellulases, xylanases, amylases, and proteases, as well as alleviated inhibition of spore germination on glucose medium. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis showed that the increased levels of enzyme activity in both Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus oryzae are mirrored at the transcript level, indicating transcriptional regulation. We report that Aspergillus oryzae DAR3699, originally isolated from soy fermentation, has a similar phenotype to that of a creB deletion mutant of the RIB40 strain, and it contains a mutation in the creB gene. Collectively, the results for Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma reesei, and Penicillium decumbens show that deletion of creB may be broadly useful in diverse fungi for increasing production of a variety of enzymes.

  11. Two new aflatoxin producing species, and an overview of Aspergillus section Flavi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, J.; Frisvad, J.C.; Samson, R.A.

    2011-01-01

    Aspergillus subgenus Circumdati section Flavi includes species with usually biseriate conidial heads, in shades of yellow-green to brown, and dark sclerotia. Several species assigned to this section are either important mycotoxin producers including aflatoxins, cyclopiazonic acid, ochratoxins and kojic acid, or are used in oriental food fermentation processes and as hosts for heterologous gene expression. A polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data and partial calmodulin, β-tubulin and ITS sequences to examine the evolutionary relationships within this section. The data indicate that Aspergillus section Flavi involves 22 species, which can be grouped into seven clades. Two new species, A. pseudocaelatus sp. nov. and A. pseudonomius sp. nov. have been discovered, and can be distinguished from other species in this section based on sequence data and extrolite profiles. Aspergillus pseudocaelatus is represented by a single isolate collected from Arachis burkartii leaf in Argentina, is closely related to the non-aflatoxin producing A. caelatus, and produces aflatoxins B & G, cyclopiazonic acid and kojic acid, while A. pseudonomius was isolated from insects and soil in the USA. This species is related to A. nomius, and produces aflatoxin B1 (but not G-type aflatoxins), chrysogine and kojic acid. In order to prove the aflatoxin producing abilities of the isolates, phylogenetic analysis of three genes taking part in aflatoxin biosynthesis, including the transcriptional regulator aflR, norsolonic acid reductase and O-methyltransferase were also carried out. A detailed overview of the species accepted in Aspergillus section Flavi is presented. PMID:21892243

  12. Biofilm Filtrates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Patients Inhibit Preformed Aspergillus fumigatus Biofilms via Apoptosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirazi, Fazal; Ferreira, Jose A G; Stevens, David A; Clemons, Karl V; Kontoyiannis, Dimitrios P

    2016-01-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) and Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) colonize cystic fibrosis (CF) patient airways. Pa culture filtrates inhibit Af biofilms, and Pa non-CF, mucoid (Muc-CF) and nonmucoid CF (NMuc-CF) isolates form an ascending inhibitory hierarchy. We hypothesized this activity is mediated through apoptosis induction. One Af and three Pa (non-CF, Muc-CF, NMuc-CF) reference isolates were studied. Af biofilm was formed in 96 well plates for 16 h ± Pa biofilm filtrates. After 24 h, apoptosis was characterized by viability dye DiBAc, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, DNA fragmentation and metacaspase activity. Muc-CF and NMuc-CF filtrates inhibited and damaged Af biofilm (pbiofilms (3.7- fold) compared to treatment with filtrates from Muc-CF- (2.5- fold) or non-CF Pa (1.7- fold). Depolarization of mitochondrial potential was greater upon exposure to NMuc-CF (2.4-fold) compared to Muc-CF (1.8-fold) or non-CF (1.25-fold) (pbiofilm, compared to control, mediated by metacaspase activation. In conclusion, filtrates from CF-Pa isolates were more inhibitory against Af biofilms than from non-CF. The apoptotic effect involves mitochondrial membrane damage associated with metacaspase activation.

  13. Aspergillus subgenus Polypaecilum from the built environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.B. Tanney

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Xerophilic fungi, especially Aspergillus species, are prevalent in the built environment. In this study, we employed a combined culture-independent (454-pyrosequencing and culture-dependent (dilution-to-extinction approach to investigate the mycobiota of indoor dust collected from 93 buildings in 12 countries worldwide. High and low water activity (aw media were used to capture mesophile and xerophile biodiversity, resulting in the isolation of approximately 9 000 strains. Among these, 340 strains representing seven putative species in Aspergillus subgenus Polypaecilum were isolated, mostly from lowered aw media, and tentatively identified based on colony morphology and internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS barcodes. Further morphological study and phylogenetic analyses using sequences of ITS, β-tubulin (BenA, calmodulin (CaM, RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2, DNA topoisomerase 1 (TOP1, and a pre-mRNA processing protein homolog (TSR1 confirmed the isolation of seven species of subgenus Polypaecilum, including five novel species: A. baarnensis, A. keratitidis, A. kalimae sp. nov., A. noonimiae sp. nov., A. thailandensis sp. nov., A. waynelawii sp. nov., and A. whitfieldii sp. nov. Pyrosequencing detected six of the seven species isolated from house dust, as well as one additional species absent from the cultures isolated, and three clades representing potentially undescribed species. Species were typically found in house dust from subtropical and tropical climates, often in close proximity to the ocean or sea. The presence of subgenus Polypaecilum, a recently described clade of xerophilic/xerotolerant, halotolerant/halophilic, and potentially zoopathogenic species, within the built environment is noteworthy.

  14. Oligotrophic bacteria isolated from clinical materials.

    OpenAIRE

    Tada, Y; Ihmori, M; Yamaguchi, J

    1995-01-01

    Oligotrophic bacteria (oligotrophs) are microorganisms that grow in extremely nutritionally deficient conditions in which the concentrations of organic substances are low. Many oligotrophic bacteria were isolated from clinical materials including urine, sputum, swabbings of the throat, vaginal discharges, and others. Seventy-seven strains of oligotrophic bacteria from 871 samples of clinical material were isolated. A relatively higher frequency of isolation of oligotrophic bacteria was shown ...

  15. Aspergillus in the lung: diverse and coincident forms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buckingham, Susan J.; Hansell, David M.

    2003-01-01

    Pulmonary disease caused by the fungus Aspergillus has traditionally been regarded as belonging to one of the following, apparently distinct, entities: saprophytic aspergilloma; allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA); and invasive aspergillosis (IPA); which may be further categorised as angioinvasive, acute or chronic airway invasive [1]. It is not always obvious that there is overlap between these entities, and that in any given patient more than one Aspergillus-related pathological process can co-exist [2]. The aim of this article is to review the clinical and imaging features of the main categories of Aspergillus-related pulmonary disease and, in particular, to highlight the overlap between them. (orig.)

  16. Radiological abnormalities associated with Aspergillus colonization in a cystic fibrosis population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McMahon, Michelle A.; Chotirmall, Sanjay Haresh; McCullagh, Brian; Branagan, Peter; McElvaney, N.G.; Logan, P.M.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To determine if sputum colonization with Aspergillus species in patients with cystic fibrosis (PWCF) correlates with radiological abnormalities and/or a reduction in pulmonary function (FEV1). Methods: We prospectively evaluated 32 PWCF utilizing high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the thorax and pulmonary function testing (PFT). The cohort was assessed as two groups: Aspergillus positive (n = 16) and Aspergillus negative (n = 16) based on sputum culture for Aspergillus species. A modified Bhalla scoring system was applied to each HRCT scan by two blinded radiologists. Results: Aspergillus positive patients had more severe and significant bronchiectasis compared to those Aspergillus negative (p < 0.05). This was most marked in the right upper and lower lobes (RUL, RLL). Total Bhalla score was clinically significant in both groups and approached statistical significance between groups (p = 0.063). No difference in pulmonary function between the groups was detected. Conclusion: PWCF colonized by Aspergillus species have greater radiological abnormalities undetectable by PFTs. Early radiological evaluation of Aspergillus colonized PWCF is therefore warranted.

  17. Isolation and identification of fungi responsible for leaf spots disease ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The diseased plant leaves were taken to the laboratory for culture, isolation, and ... These included; Alternaria longipes, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, ... Phomopsis mangiferae, Pseudofusicoccum spp. and Rhizopus oryzae.

  18. Molecular and biochemical characterization of soil isolates of Aspergillus niger aggregate and an assessment of their antagonism against Rhizoctonia solani

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.R. Khan

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Sixteen Aspergillus niger aggregate isolates collected from different crop fi elds were subjected to RAPDPCR using 20 Operon primers and 8 synthetic primers. Twenty-two primers led to the amplifi cation of 727 fragments ranging from 3500 bp (OPA 11 to 200 bp (primer 06. Two bands were monomorphic, while the rest were polymorphic. Three amplicons produced by OPA 16 were recorded as isolate-specifi c as 2300 bp by AnC2 and AnR3, and as 2800 bp by AnC2 only. The highest genetic similarity (0.79 was measured between AnC2 and AnR3, and the lowest (0.17 between AnC2 and AnR2. Multivariate analysis of genetic similarity revealed three major clusters, named group I, group II and group III. All isolates were ochratoxin A negative (<1 ng g-1. Isolates AnC2 and AnR3, which produced HCN and solubilized the greatest amount of phosphorus, belonged to group I. These isolates also signifi cantly increased eggplant yield and caused the greatest inhibition of colonization by R. solani in dual culture. They also suppressed the root rot on eggplant and the soil population of R. solani in pot soil.

  19. Full Length Research Paper Production of emodin from Aspergillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In order to study the chemical constituents in the pigmented culture produced from Aspergillus ochraceus, solid phase extraction method was employed to isolate the pigment molecules from the primary culture, followed by fractionation on preparative liquid chromatography. Structural characterization confirmed that one of ...

  20. In vitro antimicrobial activity of ten medicinal plants against clinical isolates of oral cancer cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panghal, Manju; Kaushal, Vivek; Yadav, Jaya P

    2011-05-20

    Suppression of immune system in treated cancer patients may lead to secondary infections that obviate the need of antibiotics. In the present study, an attempt was made to understand the occurrence of secondary infections in immuno-suppressed patients along with herbal control of these infections with the following objectives to: (a) isolate the microbial species from the treated oral cancer patients along with the estimation of absolute neutrophile counts of patients (b) assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity medicinal plants against the above clinical isolates. Blood and oral swab cultures were taken from 40 oral cancer patients undergoing treatment in the radiotherapy unit of Regional Cancer Institute, Pt. B.D.S. Health University,Rohtak, Haryana. Clinical isolates were identified by following general microbiological, staining and biochemical methods. The absolute neutrophile counts were done by following the standard methods. The medicinal plants selected for antimicrobial activity analysis were Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., Asparagus racemosus Willd., Balanites aegyptiaca L., Cestrum diurnum L., Cordia dichotoma G. Forst, Eclipta alba L., Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. , Pedalium murex L., Ricinus communis L. and Trigonella foenum graecum L. The antimicrobial efficacy of medicinal plants was evaluated by modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. MIC and MFC were investigated by serial two fold microbroth dilution method. Prevalent bacterial pathogens isolated were Staphylococcus aureus (23.2%), Escherichia coli (15.62%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (12.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.37%), Klebsiella pneumonia (7.81%), Proteus mirabilis (3.6%), Proteus vulgaris (4.2%) and the fungal pathogens were Candida albicans (14.6%), Aspergillus fumigatus (9.37%). Out of 40 cases, 35 (87.5%) were observed as neutropenic. Eight medicinal plants (A. tenuifolius, A. racemosus, B. aegyptiaca, E. alba, M. koenigii, P. murex R. communis and T. foenum graecum) showed

  1. In vitro antimicrobial activity of ten medicinal plants against clinical isolates of oral cancer cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Suppression of immune system in treated cancer patients may lead to secondary infections that obviate the need of antibiotics. In the present study, an attempt was made to understand the occurrence of secondary infections in immuno-suppressed patients along with herbal control of these infections with the following objectives to: (a) isolate the microbial species from the treated oral cancer patients along with the estimation of absolute neutrophile counts of patients (b) assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity medicinal plants against the above clinical isolates. Methods Blood and oral swab cultures were taken from 40 oral cancer patients undergoing treatment in the radiotherapy unit of Regional Cancer Institute, Pt. B.D.S. Health University, Rohtak, Haryana. Clinical isolates were identified by following general microbiological, staining and biochemical methods. The absolute neutrophile counts were done by following the standard methods. The medicinal plants selected for antimicrobial activity analysis were Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., Asparagus racemosus Willd., Balanites aegyptiaca L., Cestrum diurnum L., Cordia dichotoma G. Forst, Eclipta alba L., Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. , Pedalium murex L., Ricinus communis L. and Trigonella foenum graecum L. The antimicrobial efficacy of medicinal plants was evaluated by modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. MIC and MFC were investigated by serial two fold microbroth dilution method. Results Prevalent bacterial pathogens isolated were Staphylococcus aureus (23.2%), Escherichia coli (15.62%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (12.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.37%), Klebsiella pneumonia (7.81%), Proteus mirabilis (3.6%), Proteus vulgaris (4.2%) and the fungal pathogens were Candida albicans (14.6%), Aspergillus fumigatus (9.37%). Out of 40 cases, 35 (87.5%) were observed as neutropenic. Eight medicinal plants (A. tenuifolius, A. racemosus, B. aegyptiaca, E. alba, M. koenigii, P. murex R. communis and T

  2. Potential aflatoxin and ochratoxin a production by Aspergillus species in poultry feed processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraga, M E; Curvello, F; Gatti, M J; Cavaglieri, L R; Dalcero, A M; da Rocha Rosa, C A

    2007-04-01

    Poultry feeds are prone to fungal growth and mycotoxin production during processing. The identification of biota with the ability to produce mycotoxins is essential. The aims of this study were (1) to monitor the mycobiota counts at different stages of poultry feed processing; (2) to determine the occurrence of Aspergillus species; (3) to evaluate the natural incidence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. The ability of Aspergillus spp. and its teleomorphs isolated here to produce these toxins was also investigated. Samples (144) were collected at random from a factory in Brazil. The occurrence of Aspergillus and Eurotium species was demonstrated on DRBC and DG18 media and the production of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A and their natural incidence were determined by TLC and HPLC methods. A. flavus and E. chevalieri were the most prevalent species isolated. Fungal contamination was not found after the pelleting process, though Aspergillus and Eurotium species were recovered from trough samples. High levels of aflatoxin and ochratoxin A producers were found at all stages of poultry feed processing. Also, high natural contamination with aflatoxins and ochratoxin A was found in the samples. Contact of feed with remainder poultry feed could lead to fungal contamination, so the risk of aflatoxin and/or ochratoxin A contamination of feed must be taken into account.

  3. High-yields heterologous production of the novel Aspergillus fumigatus elastase inhibitor AFUEI in Aspergillus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Nobuo; Komori, Yumiko; Okumura, Yoshiyuki; Uchiya, Kei-Ichi; Matsui, Takeshi; Nishimura, Akira; Ogawa, Kenji; Nikai, Toshiaki

    2011-08-01

    AFUEI, an elastase inhibitor produced by Aspergillus fumigatus strongly inhibits the elastolytic activity of A. fumigatus etc. To purify AFUEI, we constructed a strain that overproduces AFUEI by introducing the gene encoding AFUEI (Genbank accession no. AB546725) under control of the amyB promoter into the heterologous host Aspergillus oryzae. A. oryzae TF-4 displayed strong elastase inhibitory activity and produced considerably more AFUEI than that of A. fumigatus. Furthermore, AFUEI could be purified using culture broth and single ultrafiltration (UF) treatment, allowing for the effective production of AFUEI for use in clinical trials. Copyright © 2011 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Detection of Salmonella spp., Candida albicans, Aspergillus spp., and Antimicrobial Residues in Raw and Processed Cow Milk from Selected Smallholder Farms of Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tryness Anastazia Mhone

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A cross-sectional study was conducted to detect the presence of Salmonella spp., Candida albicans, Aspergillus spp., and antimicrobial residues in raw milk (n=120 and processed cow milk (n=20 from smallholder dairy farms from three sites in Zimbabwe. Culture and isolation of Salmonella spp., C. albicans, and Aspergillus spp. were performed using selective media, while antimicrobial residues were detected by a dye reduction test. No Salmonella, but C. albicans (17.5%; 21/120, Aspergillus spp. (0.8%; 1/120, and antimicrobial residues (2.5%; 3/120 were detected from raw milk. C. albicans was isolated from all three sites, while Aspergillus spp. and antimicrobial residues were detected from sites 1 and 3, respectively. From processed milk, only C. albicans (5% was isolated while Aspergillus spp. and antimicrobial residues were not detected. These results suggested low prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Aspergillus spp. and a relatively high prevalence of C. albicans in raw milk from the smallholder farms. The potential public health risks of C. albicans and the detected antimicrobial residues need to be considered. Thus, educating farmers on improving milking hygiene and storage of milk and establishing programmes for monitoring antimicrobial residues may help to improve the safety of milk from smallholder farms.

  5. The occurrence of a phosphorylated glycosphingolipid in Aspergillus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, P J; Roe, J

    1975-01-01

    A novel type of water-soluble phosphorylated glycosphingolipid was isolated from Aspergillus niger by a simple procedure involving precipitation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and preparative t.l.c. Besides ceramide and phosphorus it contains inositol, galactose, mannose and small amounts of glucosamine. Images PLATE 1 PMID:1156383

  6. Phylogeny of fungal hemoglobins and expression analysis of the Aspergillus oryzae flavohemoglobin gene fhbA during hyphal growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biesebeke, R. te; Levasseur, A.; Boussier, A.; Record, E.; Hondel, C.A.M.J.J. van den; Punt, P.J.

    2010-01-01

    The fhbA genes encoding putative flavohemoglobins (FHb) from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae were isolated. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the A. niger fhbA gene and other putative filamentous fungal FHb-encoding genes to that of Ralstonia eutropha shows an overall

  7. The mutagenic action of UV-light irradiation on aspergillus terreus in relation to antibacterial activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouda, S.M.

    2009-01-01

    Four strains of cellulolytic fungi (i.e Penicillium oxalicum, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus and Trichoderma longibrachiatum) were tested for the production of cellulolytic enzymes and antibiotic action. these fungi were cultured on Czapek Dox's media with different cellulosic substrates. A. terreus. exhibited the highest cellulolytic activity and the highest level of anti-bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. and Escherichia Coli, Ultraviolet light as a mutagenic treatment for A.terreus was investigated. Two treated isolates U.30.12 and U.60.10 were obtained after the treatment at dose 30 and 60 min., respectively with a higher antibiotic activity in comparison with the wild isolate. A compound of fifteen carbon atom of terrecylic acid was isolated from ethyl acetate extract using spectroscopic analysis

  8. Polyphasic taxonomy of Aspergillus section Aspergillus (formerly Eurotium, and its occurrence in indoor environments and food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.J. Chen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus section Aspergillus (formerly the genus Eurotium includes xerophilic species with uniseriate conidiophores, globose to subglobose vesicles, green conidia and yellow, thin walled eurotium-like ascomata with hyaline, lenticular ascospores. In the present study, a polyphasic approach using morphological characters, extrolites, physiological characters and phylogeny was applied to investigate the taxonomy of this section. Over 500 strains from various culture collections and new isolates obtained from indoor environments and a wide range of substrates all over the world were identified using calmodulin gene sequencing. Of these, 163 isolates were subjected to molecular phylogenetic analyses using sequences of ITS rDNA, partial β-tubulin (BenA, calmodulin (CaM and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2 genes. Colony characteristics were documented on eight cultivation media, growth parameters at three incubation temperatures were recorded and micromorphology was examined using light microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy to illustrate and characterize each species. Many specific extrolites were extracted and identified from cultures, including echinulins, epiheveadrides, auroglaucins and anthraquinone bisanthrons, and to be consistent in strains of nearly all species. Other extrolites are species-specific, and thus valuable for identification. Several extrolites show antioxidant effects, which may be nutritionally beneficial in food and beverages. Important mycotoxins in the strict sense, such as sterigmatocystin, aflatoxins, ochratoxins, citrinin were not detected despite previous reports on their production in this section. Adopting a polyphasic approach, 31 species are recognized, including nine new species. ITS is highly conserved in this section and does not distinguish species. All species can be differentiated using CaM or RPB2 sequences. For BenA, Aspergillus brunneus and A. niveoglaucus share identical

  9. Abundance, genetic diversity and sensitivity to demethylation inhibitor fungicides of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from organic substrates with special emphasis on compost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoro, Karin; Matić, Slavica; Gisi, Ulrich; Spadaro, Davide; Pugliese, Massimo; Gullino, Maria L

    2017-12-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus is a widespread fungus that colonizes dead organic substrates but it can also cause fatal human diseases. Aspergilloses are treated with demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides; however, resistant isolates appeared recently in the medical and also environmental area. The present study aims at molecular characterizing and quantifying A. fumigatus in major environmental habitats and determining its sensitivity to medical and agricultural DMI fungicides. A. fumigatus was isolated only rarely from soil and meadow/forest organic matter but high concentrations (10 3 to 10 7  cfu/g) were detected in substrates subjected to elevated temperatures, such as compost and silage. High genetic diversity of A. fumigatus from compost was found based on SSR markers, distinguishing among fungal isolates even when coming from the same substrate sample, while subclustering was observed based on mutations in cyp51A gene. Several cyp51A amino acid substitutions were found in 15 isolates, although all isolates were fully sensitive to the tested DMI fungicides, with exception of one isolate in combination with one fungicide. This study suggests that the tested A. fumigatus isolates collected in Italy, Spain and Hungary from the fungus' major living habitats (compost) and commercial growing substrates are not potential carriers for DMI resistance in the environment. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. Optimization of chloroxylenol degradation by Aspergillus niger using ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Chloroxylenol is a very toxic phenolic derivative and it represents potential hazard towards human health and to the environment. Aspergillus niger, local isolate, is an efficient fungus to degrade 99.72% of 2 mg/L of chloroxylenol after 7 days of fermentation. It also has a high capacity to degrade 91.83% of higher ...

  11. Production and partial purification of glucoamylase from Aspergillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Glucoamylase is an enzyme that hydrolyses 1,4α and 1,6β-glucosidic linkages in polysaccharides yielding glucose. Aspergillus niger strains 1, 2 and 3 were locally isolated from cassava peel dumpsite for the production of glucoamylase enzyme. A. niger strains 1, 2 and 3 were screened for their hyper producing ability on ...

  12. Efficient degradation of tannic acid by black Aspergillus species

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Diepeningen, van A.D.; Debets, A.J.M.; Varga, J.; Gaag, van der M.; Swart, K.; Hoekstra, R.F.

    2004-01-01

    A set of aspergillus strains from culture collections and wild-type black aspergilli isolated on non-selective media were used to validate the use of media with 20 % tannic acid for exclusive and complete selection of the black aspergilli. The 20% tannic acid medium proved useful for both

  13. Characterization of four new antifungal yanuthones from Aspergillus niger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lene Maj; Holm, Dorte Koefoed; Knudsen, Peter Boldsen

    2015-01-01

    Four new yanuthone analogs (1–4) were isolated from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of UHPLC-DAD-HRMS data and one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Labeling studies with 13C8-6-methylsalicylic acid...

  14. Efficient degradation of tannic acid by black Aspergillus species

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Diepeningen, Anne D; Debets, Alfons J M; Varga, Janos; van der Gaag, Marijn; Swart, Klaas; Hoekstra, Rolf F

    A set of aspergillus strains from culture collections and wild-type black aspergilli isolated on non-selective media were used to validate the use of media with 20% tannic acid for exclusive and complete selection of the black aspergilli. The 20% tannic acid medium proved useful for both

  15. Production of 3,4-dihydroxy L-phenylalanine by a newly isolated Aspergillus niger and parameter significance analysis by Plackett-Burman design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haq I

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The amino acid derivative 3,4-dihydroxy L-phenylalanine (L-dopa is gaining interest as a drug of choice for Parkinson's disease. Aspergillus oryzae is commonly used for L-dopa production; however, a slower growth rate and relatively lower tyrosinase activity of mycelia have led to an increasing interest in exploiting alternative fungal cultures. In the present investigation, we report on the microbiological transformation of L-tyrosine to L-dopa accomplished by a newly isolated filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. Results The culture A. niger (isolate GCBT-8 was propagated in 500 ml Erlenmeyer flasks and the pre-grown mycelia (48 h old were used in the reaction mixture as a source of enzyme tyrosinase. Grinded mycelia gave 1.26 fold higher L-dopa production compared to the intact at 6% glucose (pH 5.5. The rate of L-tyrosine consumption was improved from 0.198 to 0.281 mg/ml. Among the various nitrogen sources, 1.5% peptone, 1% yeast extract and 0.2% ammonium chloride were optimized. The maximal L-dopa was produced (0.365 mg/ml at 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate with L-tyrosine consumption of 0.403 mg/ml. Conclusion Over ~73% yield was achieved (degree of freedom 3 when the process parameters were identified using 2k-Plackett-Burman experimental design. The results are highly significant (p ≤ 0.05 and mark the commercial utility (LSD 0.016 of the mould culture which is perhaps the first ever report on L-dopa production from A. niger.

  16. Aspergillus bertholletius sp. nov. from Brazil nuts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta H Taniwaki

    Full Text Available During a study on the mycobiota of brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa in Brazil, a new Aspergillus species, A. bertholletius, was found, and is described here. A polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data as well as partial β-tubulin, calmodulin and ITS sequences to characterize this taxon. A. bertholletius is represented by nineteen isolates from samples of brazil nuts at various stages of production and soil close to Bertholletia excelsa trees. The following extrolites were produced by this species: aflavinin, cyclopiazonic acid, kojic acid, tenuazonic acid and ustilaginoidin C. Phylogenetic analysis using partial β-tubulin and camodulin gene sequences showed that A. bertholletius represents a new phylogenetic clade in Aspergillus section Flavi. The type strain of A. bertholletius is CCT 7615 ( = ITAL 270/06 = IBT 29228.

  17. Aspergillus bertholletius sp. nov. from Brazil Nuts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniwaki, Marta H.; Pitt, John I.; Iamanaka, Beatriz T.; Sartori, Daniele; Copetti, Marina V.; Balajee, Arun; Fungaro, Maria Helena P.; Frisvad, Jens C.

    2012-01-01

    During a study on the mycobiota of brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) in Brazil, a new Aspergillus species, A. bertholletius, was found, and is described here. A polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data as well as partial β-tubulin, calmodulin and ITS sequences to characterize this taxon. A. bertholletius is represented by nineteen isolates from samples of brazil nuts at various stages of production and soil close to Bertholletia excelsa trees. The following extrolites were produced by this species: aflavinin, cyclopiazonic acid, kojic acid, tenuazonic acid and ustilaginoidin C. Phylogenetic analysis using partial β-tubulin and camodulin gene sequences showed that A. bertholletius represents a new phylogenetic clade in Aspergillus section Flavi. The type strain of A. bertholletius is CCT 7615 ( = ITAL 270/06 = IBT 29228). PMID:22952594

  18. Clinical implications of globally emerging azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verweij, Paul E.

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus fungi are the cause of an array of diseases affecting humans, animals and plants. The triazole antifungal agents itraconazole, voriconazole, isavuconazole and posaconazole are treatment options against diseases caused by Aspergillus. However, resistance to azoles has recently emerged as a new therapeutic challenge in six continents. Although de novo azole resistance occurs occasionally in patients during azole therapy, the main burden is the aquisition of resistance through the environment. In this setting, the evolution of resistance is attributed to the widespread use of azole-based fungicides. Although ubiquitously distributed, A. fumigatus is not a phytopathogen. However, agricultural fungicides deployed against plant pathogenic moulds such as Fusarium, Mycospaerella and A. flavus also show activity against A. fumigatus in the environment and exposure of non-target fungi is inevitable. Further, similarity in molecule structure between azole fungicides and antifungal drugs results in cross-resistance of A. fumigatus to medical azoles. Clinical studies have shown that two-thirds of patients with azole-resistant infections had no previous history of azole therapy and high mortality rates between 50% and 100% are reported in azole-resistant invasive aspergillosis. The resistance phenotype is associated with key mutations in the cyp51A gene, including TR34/L98H, TR53 and TR46/Y121F/T289A resistance mechanisms. Early detection of resistance is of paramount importance and if demonstrated, either with susceptibility testing or through molecular analysis, azole monotherapy should be avoided. Liposomal amphotericin B or a combination of voriconazole and an echinocandin are recomended for azole-resistant aspergillosis. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience’. PMID:28080986

  19. Comparison of species composition and fumonisin production in Aspergillus section Nigri populations in maize kernels from USA and Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susca, Antonia; Moretti, Antonio; Stea, Gaetano; Villani, Alessandra; Haidukowski, Miriam; Logrieco, Antonio; Munkvold, Gary

    2014-10-01

    Fumonisin contamination of maize is considered a serious problem in most maize-growing regions of the world, due to the widespread occurrence of these mycotoxins and their association with toxicosis in livestock and humans. Fumonisins are produced primarily by species of Fusarium that are common in maize grain, but also by some species of Aspergillus sect. Nigri, which can also occur on maize kernels as opportunistic pathogens. Understanding the origin of fumonisin contamination in maize is a key component in developing effective management strategies. Although some fungi in Aspergillus sect. Nigri are known to produce fumonisins, little is known about the species which are common in maize and whether they make a measurable contribution to fumonisin contamination of maize grain. In this work, we evaluated populations of Aspergillus sect. Nigri isolated from maize in USA and Italy, focusing on analysis of housekeeping genes, the fum8 gene and in vitro capability of producing fumonisins. DNA sequencing was used to identify Aspergillus strains belonging to sect. Nigri, in order to compare species composition between the two populations, which might influence specific mycotoxicological risks. Combined beta-tubulin/calmodulin sequences were used to genetically characterize 300 strains (199 from Italy and 101 from USA) which grouped into 4 clades: Aspergillus welwitschiae (syn. Aspergillus awamori, 14.7%), Aspergillus tubingensis (37.0%) and Aspergillus niger group 1 (6.7%) and group 2 (41.3%). Only one strain was identified as Aspergillus carbonarius. Species composition differed between the two populations; A. niger predominated among the USA isolates (69%), but comprised a smaller percentage (38%) of Italian isolates. Conversely, A. tubingensis and A. welwitschiae occurred at higher frequencies in the Italian population (42% and 20%, respectively) than in the USA population (27% and 5%). The evaluation of FB2 production on CY20S agar revealed 118 FB2 producing and 84

  20. Lactic acid bacteria as functional probiotic isolates for inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. niger and Penicillium chrysogenum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbaszadeh, S; Tavakoli, R; Sharifzadeh, A; Shokri, H

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, L. casei, L. paracasei and Bifidobacterium bifidum to inhibit the outgrowth of some common food-spoiling fungi including Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. parasiticus and Penicillium chrysogenum. Bacterial isolates were cultured on Mann Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth and liquid cultures and supernatants were prepared. The antifungal activity was tested using the agar well diffusion method. Both liquid culture and supernatant of L. casei isolate exhibited high antifungal activity, followed by L. acidophilus and L. paracasei isolates. The least activity was recorded for the isolates B. bifidum, while the isolate L. rhamnosus was moderately active against tested fungi. The antifungal activity of the supernatants obtained from all probiotic isolates against fungi was significantly less than that of liquid cultures (Pniger and A. parasiticus. These results suggest that probiotic bacteria strains have the ability to prevent the growth of pathogenic and mycotoxigenic fungi as antifungal agents for various biomedical applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Genetic and phenotypic diversity of naturally isolated wild strains of Aspergillus niger with hyper glucose oxidase production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MAHMOUD EL-HARIRI

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Glucose oxidase (GOx is the basic stone for many of biological industry worldwide. The improvement of GOx production basically depends on selection of hyper producer strain of Aspergillus niger. Selective isolation and screening for natural hyper producer strains of A. niger and sequence analysis of the GOD gene, which is responsible for production of the enzyme, are very effective approaches to investigate the naturally modified strains of A. niger with hyper productive capacity of GOx enzyme. The aims of the current study were selective isolation of naturally hyper GOx producing strains of A. niger and evaluation of their GOx activities under optimized parameters in the laboratory. Five wild Egyptian isolates of A. niger were screened for GOx and catalase activity using two types of modified basal liquid media. The GOx activity was evaluated by high throughout liquid phase system. The isolates showed a variable activity for GOx production ranged from 0 to 28.7 U.ml-1. One isolate coded Strain 7 was negative GOx producer on Vogel's broth medium in comparison to other isolates, while its GOx activity on Cazpek Dox was considered as positive (7.28 U.ml-1. It was concluded that GOx production is affected by three controllable factors – the basal media components, time of incubation, and the strain with its adaption to the media components‎. Also, the catalase activity was tested and it was produced with a different degree of variability, which may be reflected on GOx stability. GOD genes of these wild variant of A. niger were cloned and sequenced to determine intraspecies diversity of GOD between the wild variants. The comparison of isolated wild variants to other reference hyper GOx producer strains of A. niger was performed to determine if the GOD sequence analysis of these strains can be distinguished based on their GOx activity. This is the first report for isolation and detection of naturally A. niger hyper GOx-producer strains with

  2. Posaconazole Enhances the Activity of Amphotericin B against Aspergillus Hyphae In Vitro▿

    OpenAIRE

    Perkhofer, Susanne; Lugger, Helene; Dierich, Manfred P.; Lass-Flörl, Cornelia

    2006-01-01

    The MICs and fractional inhibitory concentrations of posaconazole (POS) and voriconazole (VRZ), alone and in combination with amphotericin B (AMB), for the conidia and hyphae of 100 Aspergillus isolates were evaluated. POS-AMB had more synergistic activity against hyphae (75% of isolates) than VRZ-AMB (37%) and significantly more synergistic activity against hyphae than against conidia (12%).

  3. Specific Gene Loci of Clinical Pseudomonas putida Isolates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lázaro Molina

    Full Text Available Pseudomonas putida are ubiquitous inhabitants of soils and clinical isolates of this species have been seldom described. Clinical isolates show significant variability in their ability to cause damage to hosts because some of them are able to modulate the host's immune response. In the current study, comparisons between the genomes of different clinical and environmental strains of P. putida were done to identify genetic clusters shared by clinical isolates that are not present in environmental isolates. We show that in clinical strains specific genes are mostly present on transposons, and that this set of genes exhibit high identity with genes found in pathogens and opportunistic pathogens. The set of genes prevalent in P. putida clinical isolates, and absent in environmental isolates, are related with survival under oxidative stress conditions, resistance against biocides, amino acid metabolism and toxin/antitoxin (TA systems. This set of functions have influence in colonization and survival within human tissues, since they avoid host immune response or enhance stress resistance. An in depth bioinformatic analysis was also carried out to identify genetic clusters that are exclusive to each of the clinical isolates and that correlate with phenotypical differences between them, a secretion system type III-like was found in one of these clinical strains, a determinant of pathogenicity in Gram-negative bacteria.

  4. Bioleaching of nickel by Aspergillus humicola SKP102 isolated from Indian lateritic overburden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suchhanda Ghosh

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The lateritic deposits spread over the Eastern Ghats of Sukinda Valley, Odisha, India, produce a huge amount of overburden annually as a byproduct of chromite mining. This chromite mining overburden contains nickel, the only source of the metal in the country. During this study Aspergillus humicola SKP102, an indigenous fungus isolated from the mining overburden was employed for the leaching of nickel. About 53.89% of the nickel could be leached by the fungus when grown in batch mode using a Czapek dox medium containing 2% (w/v of the mining overburden. The parameters affecting bioleaching were optimized in order to grow the fungus and leach the metal. Of the different options of cheap carbon sources, straw infusion and molasses emerged as viable options for the growth of the fungus and the leaching of nickel. Two-step and indirect techniques were also used for this purpose, and they resulted in 53.09% and 65.04% Ni leaching respectively. Adding diluted sulfuric acid to the leaching medium resulted in 97.05% nickel recovery from the overburden pulp. A. humicola SKP102 could be a potential tool for leaching nickel from the mining overburden.

  5. Aspergillus serology: Have we arrived yet?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Malcolm D; Page, Iain D

    2017-01-01

    Aspergillosis presents in various clinical forms, among them chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, which is a spectrum of disease entities including aspergilloma, chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis, and chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergillus also contributes to fungal allergy and sensitization. Analysis of the immune response to Aspergillus and its antigens is an integral part of the diagnosis of these diseases. Over the past half century, the techniques used to determine antibody titers have evolved from testing for precipitating and agglutinating antibodies by agar gel double diffusion and immunolectrophoresis to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using recombinant proteins as capture antigens. A resurgence of interest in the detection of immunoglobulins, primarily Aspergillus-specific IgG, has hinted at the possibility of distinguishing between colonization and invasion in immunocompromised patients with invasive aspergillosis. Even though there appears to be a greater degree of discrimination between the clinical forms of aspergillosis there is still a long way to travel. This review presents illustrative examples of where new diagnostic platforms and technologies have been applied to this intriguing spectrum of diseases. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. A trispecies Aspergillus microarray: Comparative transcriptomics of three Aspergillus species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Mikael Rørdam; Vongsangnak, Wanwipa; Panagiotou, Gianni

    2008-01-01

    The full-genome sequencing of the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus oryzae has opened possibilities for studying the cellular physiology of these fungi on a systemic level. As a tool to explore this, we are making available an Affymetrix GeneChip developed...... data identified 23 genes to be a conserved response across Aspergillus sp., including the xylose transcriptional activator XlnR. A promoter analysis of the up-regulated genes in all three species indicates the conserved XInR-binding site to be 5'-GGNTAAA-3'. The composition of the conserved gene......-set suggests that xylose acts as a molecule, indicating the presence of complex carbohydrates such as hemicellulose, and triggers an array of degrading enzymes. With this case example, we present a validated tool for transcriptome analysis of three Aspergillus species and a methodology for conducting cross...

  7. Partially purified polygalacturonase from Aspergillus niger (SA6 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Polygalacturonase (PG) was isolated from Aspergillus niger (A. niger) (SA6), partially purified and characterized. The PG showed two bands on SDS-PAGE suggesting an “endo and exo PG with apparent molecular weights of 35 and 40 KDa, respectively. It was purified 9-fold with a yield of 0.18% and specific activity of 246 ...

  8. Aspergillus atacamensis and A. salisburgensis: two new halophilic species from hypersaline/arid habitats with a phialosimplex-like morphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinelli, Livia; Zalar, Polona; Gunde-Cimerman, Nina; Azua-Bustos, Armando; Sterflinger, Katja; Piñar, Guadalupe

    2017-07-01

    Halophilic fungal strains isolated from historical wooden staircase in a salt mine in Austria, and from wall biofilm and soil of a cave in the Coastal Range of the hyperarid Atacama Desert in Chile were characterised and described newly as Aspergillus salisburgensis and Aspergillus atacamensis. Morphological characters including solitary phialides producing solitary conidia and conidia in chains and/or heads suggested affinity to Aspergillus subgenus Polypaecilum. Strains required salt for growth, grew optimally on media with 10-25% NaCl and at 15-28 °C. These values are similar to those observed for Aspergillus salinarus comb. nov. (Phialosimplex salinarum), while the ex-type strains of Aspergillus sclerotialis, Aspergillus chlamydosporus and Aspergillus caninus (all belonging to Aspergillus subgen. Polypaecilum) grew optimally at 0-5% NaCl and showed fastest growth at 28-37 °C. Phylogenetic analyses on the basis of rDNA sequences, RAPD-PCR fingerprint patterns, and cellobiohydrolase gene (cbh-I) polymorphism clustered the strains into three groups and supported their taxonomic recognition as A. salinarus, A. atacamensis and A. salisburgensis. On the basis of phylogenetic inferences, also Sagenomella keratitidis is newly combined as Aspergillus keratitidis and inferred as a species of Aspergillus subgenus Polypaecilum.

  9. Performance of VITEK mass spectrometry V3.0 for rapid identification of clinical Aspergillus fumigatus in different culture conditions based on ribosomal proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou L

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Longrong Zhou, Yongquan Chen, Yuanhong Xu Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, Hefei, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Fast and accurate discrimination of Aspergillus fumigatus is significant, since misidentification may lead to inappropriate clinical therapy. This study assessed VITEK mass spectrometry (MS V3.0 for A. fumigatus identification using extracted fungal ribosomal proteins. A total of 52 isolates preliminarily identified as A. fumigatus by traditional morphological methods were inoculated in three different culture media and cultured at two different temperatures. The specific spectral fingerprints of different culture time points (48, 72, 96, and 120 h were obtained. Of all strains, 88.5% (46/52 were discriminated as A. fumigatus, while the remaining 11.5% (6/52 produced results inconsistent with morphological analysis. Molecular sequencing, as a reference method for species identification, was used to validate the morphological analysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight MS. Chi-square tests (Χ2 test, P=0.05 demonstrated that the culture medium and incubation temperature had no effects on identification accuracy; however, identification accuracy of the strains in the 48-h group was lower than that in other groups. In addition, we found that ribosomal proteins extracted from A. fumigatus can be stored in different environments for at least 1 week, with their profiles remaining stable and strain identification results showing no change. This is beneficial for medical institutions with no mass spectrometer at hand. Overall, this study showed the powerful ability of VITEK MS V 3.0 in identifying A. fumigatus. Keywords: VITEK MS V 3.0, Aspergillus fumigatus, identification, ribosomal protein, spectral fingerprints, fungal, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF MS

  10. [Clinicopathologic study of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis caused by Aspergillus and Mucorales].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Chun-yan; Piao, Ying-shi; Tian, Cheng; Li, Li-li; Liu, Hong-gang

    2012-10-01

    of geographic necrosis involving deep-seated tissue could be seen in group M patients (13/16). Isolated multinucleated giant cells were commonly seen. Granulomatous inflammation against fungal organisms were identified (16/16). Vasculitis and thrombosis were also observed (10/16). The invasiveness of Mucorales is remarkable; and when it causes invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, the clinical course is often acute and large areas of tissue necrosis can be seen. The invasiveness of Aspergillus in tissue is relatively mild. Granulomas are more common and the disease often runs a chronic clinical course. There is however no significant difference in long-term mortality. The pathogenesis may be related to the different components of the fungi.

  11. Aspergillus mediastinitis after cardiac surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Josée Caballero

    2016-03-01

    Conclusion: The clinical features of postoperative Aspergillus mediastinitis may be paucisymptomatic, emphasizing the need for a low index of suspicion in cases of culture-negative mediastinitis or in indolent wound infections. In addition to surgical debridement, the central component of antifungal therapy should include amphotericin B or voriconazole.

  12. Post-genomic insights into the plant polysaccharide degradation potential of Aspergillus nidulans and comparison to Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coutinho, Pedro M; Andersen, Mikael R; Kolenova, Katarina; vanKuyk, Patricia A; Benoit, Isabelle; Gruben, Birgit S; Trejo-Aguilar, Blanca; Visser, Hans; van Solingen, Piet; Pakula, Tiina; Seiboth, Bernard; Battaglia, Evy; Aguilar-Osorio, Guillermo; de Jong, Jan F; Ohm, Robin A; Aguilar, Mariana; Henrissat, Bernard; Nielsen, Jens; Stålbrand, Henrik; de Vries, Ronald P

    The plant polysaccharide degradative potential of Aspergillus nidulans was analysed in detail and compared to that of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae using a combination of bioinformatics, physiology and transcriptomics. Manual verification indicated that 28.4% of the A. nidulans ORFs

  13. Aspergillus and Penicillium (Eurotiales: Trichocomaceae) in soils of the Brazilian tropical dry forest: diversity in an area of environmental preservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Renan do Nascimento; Bezerra, Jadson Diogo Pereira; Costa, Phelipe Manoel Oller; de Lima-Júnior, Nelson Correia; Alves de Souza Galvão, Ivana Roberta Gomes; Alves dos Santos-Júnior, Anthony; Fernandes, Maria José; de Souza-Motta, Cristina Maria; Oliveira, Neiva Tinti

    2016-03-01

    Soil is a complex biological system that plays a key role for plants and animals, especially in dry forests such as the Caatinga. Fungi from soils, such as Aspergillus and Penicillium, can be used as bioindica- tors for biodiversity conservation. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify species of Aspergillus and Penicillium in soil, from the municipalities of Tupanatinga and Ibimirim, with dry forests, in the Catimbau National Park. Five collections were performed in each area during the drought season of 2012, totaling 25 soil samples per area. Fungi were isolated by suspending soil samples in sterile distilled water and plating on Sabouraud Agar media plus Chloramphenicol and Rose Bengal, and Glycerol Dicloran Agar. Isolates were identified by morphological taxonomy in the Culture Collection Laboratory and confirmed by sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer of rDNA. A total of 42 species were identified, of which 22 belong to the genus Aspergillus and 20 to Penicillium. Penicillium isolates showed uniform distribution from the collecting area in Tupanatinga, and the evenness indices found were 0.92 and 0.88 in Tupanatinga and Ibimirim, respectively. Among isolates of Aspergillus evenness, the value found in Tupanatinga (0.85) was very close to that found in Ibimirim (0.86). High diversity and low dominance of fungi in soil samples was observed. These results con- tributed to the estimation of fungal diversity in dry environments of the Caatinga, where diversity is decreasing in soils that have undergone disturbance.

  14. Antifungal activity of some essential oils against toxigenic Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh, Alireza; Zamani, Elham; Sharaifi, Rohollah; Javan-Nikkhah, Mohammad; Nazari, Somayeh

    2010-01-01

    Increasing attentions have been paid on the application of essential oils and plant extracts for control of postharvest pathogens due to their natural origin and less appearance of resistance in fungi pathogens. Some Aspergillus species are toxigenic and responsible for many cases of food and feed contamination. Some Toxins that produce with some Aspergillus species are known to be potent hepatocarcinogens in animals and humans. The present work evaluated the parameters of antifungal activity of the essential oils of Zataria multiflora, Thymus migricus, Satureja hortensis, Foeniculum vulgare, Carum capticum and thiabendazol fungicide on survival and growth of different species of Aspergillus. Aerial part and seeds of plant species were collected then dried and its essential oils isolated by means of hydrodistillation. Antifungal activity was evaluated in vitro by poisonous medium technique with PDA medium at six concentrations. Results showed that all essential oils could inhibit the growth of Aspergillus species. The essential oil with the best effect and lowest EC50 and MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) was Z. multiflora (223 microl/l and 650 microl/l, respectively). The chemical composition of the Z. multiflora essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS.

  15. Study of effect ultraviolet radiation on Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus Parasiticus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghafourian, H.; Kafaei, F.; Raouf, J.B.

    2000-01-01

    In this article the results of ultraviolet radiation effects on Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus to reach the quality control standards are presented. The purpose was to test the effect of ultraviolet radiation in 254 nanometer wavelength for fungi decontamination with respect to the exposure time of radiation and the distance between samples and radiation source. The ultraviolet radiation effects on plates containing Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus Parasiticus fungi were studied in the exposure time duration of 30, to 360 seconds of a fixed distance, and also for variable distances from 10 to 40 cm at a given exposure time. It is shown that in the exposure time of more than 360 second the ultraviolet radiation exposure highly decreases the number of Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus Parasiticus fungi colonies. By reducing the distance, the number of colonies decreases and it is minimized at a 10 cm distance in the time exposure of 360 second. The above results show that the ultraviolet radiation is an effective method for food decontamination and can be used in industry

  16. Aspergillus-Associated Airway Disease, Inflammation, and the Innate Immune Response

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chotirmall, Sanjay H.; Al-Alawi, Mazen; Logan, P. Mark; Greene, Catherine M.; McElvaney, Noel G.

    2013-01-01

    Aspergillus moulds exist ubiquitously as spores that are inhaled in large numbers daily. Whilst most are removed by anatomical barriers, disease may occur in certain circumstances. Depending on the underlying state of the human immune system, clinical consequences can ensue ranging from an excessive immune response during allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis to the formation of an aspergilloma in the immunocompetent state. The severest infections occur in those who are immunocompromised where invasive pulmonary aspergillosis results in high mortality rates. The diagnosis of Aspergillus-associated pulmonary disease is based on clinical, radiological, and immunological testing. An understanding of the innate and inflammatory consequences of exposure to Aspergillus species is critical in accounting for disease manifestations and preventing sequelae. The major components of the innate immune system involved in recognition and removal of the fungus include phagocytosis, antimicrobial peptide production, and recognition by pattern recognition receptors. The cytokine response is also critical facilitating cell-to-cell communication and promoting the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of the host response. In the following review, we discuss the above areas with a focus on the innate and inflammatory response to airway Aspergillus exposure and how these responses may be modulated for therapeutic benefit. PMID:23971044

  17. What Does Genetic Diversity of Aspergillus flavus Tell Us About Aspergillus oryzae?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus oryzae belong to Aspergillus section Flavi. They are closely related and are of significant economic importance. The former species has the ability to produce harmful aflatoxins while the latter is widely used in food fermentation and industrial enzyme production. ...

  18. First isolation of a novel thermostable antifungal peptide secreted by Aspergillus clavatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skouri-Gargouri, Houda; Gargouri, Ali

    2008-11-01

    A novel antifungal peptide produced by an indigenous fungal strain (VR) of Aspergillus clavatus was purified. The antifungal peptide was enriched in the supernatant after heat treatment at 70 degrees C. The thermostable character was exploited in the first purification step, as purified peptide was obtained after ultrafiltration and reverse phase-HPLC on C18 column application. The purified peptide named "AcAFP" for A. clavatus antifungal peptide, has molecular mass of 5773Da determined by MALDI-ToF spectrometry. The N-terminal sequence showed a notable identity to the limited family of antifungal peptides produced by ascomycetes fungi. The AcAFP activity remains intact even after heat treatment at 100 degrees C for 1h confirming its thermostability. It exhibits a strong inhibitory activity against mycelial growth of several serious human and plant pathogenic fungi: Fusariuym oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, whereas AcAFP did not affect yeast and bacterial growth.

  19. Antibiotic effective against Saccharomyces produced by Aspergillus oryzae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakata, H.; Sakai, T.; Takeda, M.; Tsukahara, T.

    1980-01-01

    Production of an antibiotic effective against Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated in 85 strains of Aspergillus oryzae, isolated from commercial koji molds. The antibiotic was produced by 50 strains. A. oryzae was cultivated at 30 degrees for 15-20 days in koji extract. The crude preparation was obtained by precipitation from the culture filtrate with EtOH, MeOH, or Me/sub 2/CO.

  20. Contaminação do ar por Aspergillus em ambiente de reabilitação de animais marinhos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Orzechowski Xavier

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillosis in captivity seabirds is often associated with elevated rates of mortality. The infection is usually acquired by inhalation of airborne fungal conidia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Aspergillus species in the indoor environment of a rehabilitation centre for marine animals in Southern Brazil. This centre continuously receives injured penguins, seagulls, albatrosses and petrels. Petri dishes plates with Agar Sabouraud dextrose and chloramphenicol were left open for 15 minutes in 3 distinct points in the rehabilitation centre and then incubated at 25ºC. During a period of two years the indoor air was sampled in 81 occasions. A total of 43 isolates belonging to 7 different Aspergillus species were recovered. Aspegillus fumigatus was the predominant species (27.9%, followed by A. niger (25.6%, and A. flavus (16.3%. Four other Aspergillus species were isolated. This study demonstrates that seabirds were exposed to pathogenic Aspergillus species in our rehabilitation centre, reinforcing the need for a strict microbiology control of the indoor air in the captivity environment.

  1. Pectinase and polygalacturonase production by a thermophilic Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from decomposting orange peels Produção de pectinases e poligalacturonase por Aspergillus fumigatus termofílico isolado de cascas de laranja em decomposição

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urmila Phutela

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available A thermophilic fungal strain producing both pectinase and polygalacturonase was isolated after primary screening of 120 different isolates. The fungus was identified as Aspergillus fumigatus Fres. MTCC 4163. Using solid-state cultivation, the optimum levels of variables for pectinase and polygalacturonase (PG production were determined. Maximal levels of enzyme activities were achieved upon growing the culture in a medium containing wheat bran, sucrose, yeast extract and (NH42SO4 after 2-3 days of incubation at a temperature of 50ºC. Highest enzyme activities of 1116 Ug-1 for pectinase and 1270 Ug-1 for polygalacturonase were obtained at pH 4.0 and 5.0, respectively.Através da tiragem de 120 cepas de fungos, isolou-se uma cepa capaz de produzir tanto pectinase quanto poligalacturonase. A cepa foi identificada como Aspergillus fumigatus Fres. MTCC 4163. Empregando cultivo em estado sólido, determinou-se os níveis ótimos das variáveis para a produção de pectinase e de poligalacturonase. Os níveis máximos de atividade enzimática foram obtidos quando a cultura era realizada em meio contendo farelo de trigo, sacarose, extrato de levedura e (NH42SO4 por 2-3 dias a uma temperatura de 50ºC. A atividade máxima de pectinase (1116 Ug-1 e de poligalacturonase (1270 Ug-1 foi obtida em pH 4,0 e 5,0, respectivamente.

  2. AKTIVITAS ANTIFUNGI FRAKSI ETILASETAT AKAR SINGAWALANG (PETIVERIA ALLIACEA L. TERHADAP ASPERGILLUS NIGER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niken Indriyanti

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus niger is a mold that can infect respiratory tract in certain condition. Azoles are used to solve this infection. Drug development on antifungal drugs still continued, one of the resorce is from plant. A plant that widely studied as antifungi is singawalang (Petiveria alliacea L.. Activity of ethanol extract and fraction of singawalang roots on Aspergillus niger tested by microdilution broth method appropriate to Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI standard. Microdilution test results showed that Singawalang roots extract has antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger with Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC 32 μg/mL and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC 1048 μg/mL. Fraction that has high activity against Aspergillus niger was ethylacetate fraction of Singawalang roots with MIC 128 µg/ml dan MFC 512 μg/mL. The higher activity of the extract than the fraction was predicted as the impact of multiple compounds that have synergic activity. The growth profile of Aspergillus niger showed unconstant result and tends to descend. However, further research needed to ensure this effect.   Keywords:    antifungal, microdilution, singawalang (Petiveria alliacea L., Aspergillus niger      ABSTRAK   Aspergillus niger merupakan kapang penginfeksi saluran pernafasan pada kondisi tertentu. Obat-obat golongan azol biasa digunakan untuk mengatasi infeksi ini. Pengembangan obat antifungi saat ini terus dilakukan, termasuk dari tanaman. Salah satu tanaman yang telah banyak diteliti memiliki efek antifungi adalah tanaman singawalang (Petiveria alliacea L.. Pengujian dilakukan dengan Broth Microdilution sesuai standar Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI. Ekstrak akar singawalang menghambat pertumbuhan Aspergillus niger dan memiliki KHM 32 ppm dan KFM 1048 ppm. Hasil dan Fraksi Ekstrak Akar Singawalang Terhadap Aspergillus niger pada fraksi etilasetat ekstrak etanol akar singawalang adalah Konsentrasi Hambat

  3. Comparative Genome Analysis Between Aspergillus oryzae Strains Reveals Close Relationship Between Sites of Mutation Localization and Regions of Highly Divergent Genes among Aspergillus Species

    OpenAIRE

    Umemura, Myco; Koike, Hideaki; Yamane, Noriko; Koyama, Yoshinori; Satou, Yuki; Kikuzato, Ikuya; Teruya, Morimi; Tsukahara, Masatoshi; Imada, Yumi; Wachi, Youji; Miwa, Yukino; Yano, Shuichi; Tamano, Koichi; Kawarabayasi, Yutaka; Fujimori, Kazuhiro E.

    2012-01-01

    Aspergillus oryzae has been utilized for over 1000 years in Japan for the production of various traditional foods, and a large number of A. oryzae strains have been isolated and/or selected for the effective fermentation of food ingredients. Characteristics of genetic alterations among the strains used are of particular interest in studies of A. oryzae. Here, we have sequenced the whole genome of an industrial fungal isolate, A. oryzae RIB326, by using a next-generation sequencing system and ...

  4. Seed isolates of Alternaria and Aspergillus fungi increase germination of Astragalus utahensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sean D. Eldredge; Brad Geary; Scott L. Jensen

    2016-01-01

    Astragalus utahensis (Torr.) Torr. & A. Gray (Fabaceae) (Utah milkvetch) is native lo the arid Great Basin and has desirable attributes that make it a good candidate for restoration in arid, noncompetitive situations. Seed dormancy is a significant barrier to consistent establishment for this species. Species of Alternaria and Aspergillus fungi have...

  5. Production and characterization of novel self-assembling biosurfactants from Aspergillus flavus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishaq, U; Akram, M S; Iqbal, Z; Rafiq, M; Akrem, A; Nadeem, M; Shafi, F; Shafiq, Z; Mahmood, S; Baig, M A

    2015-10-01

    This work was conducted to produce, purify and characterize biosurfactants from Aspergillus flavus AF612 isolated from citrus fruit. Biosurfactant named 'Uzmaq' was isolated from A. flavus AF612. The chemical characterization of the biosurfactant was conducted. Biosurfactant Uzmaq produced by A. flavus, was composed of methoxy phenyl oxime glycosides. Two molecular forms of the biosurfactant, Uzmaq-A and Uzmaq-B were isolated. Biological properties (antifungal activity) were evaluated. The fractions of the biosurfactant were isolated and their surface properties were analysed. Uzmaq-A and Uzmaq-B had critical micelle concentration (CMC) around 170 and 80 mg l(-1) , and lowered surface tension of water up to 20 and 25 m Nm(-1) respectively. The biosurfactants were stable at pH 3-12 and temperature up to 80°C. Growth and biosurfactant production kinetics were also analysed. Novel biosurfactant Uzmaq was produced from A. flavus, which was composed of methoxy phenyl oxime glycosides. The surface activity of Uzmaq was better than the maximum values of synthetic chemical surfactants. The biosurfactant showed antifungal activity and self-assembling properties. Aspergillus flavus AF612 can be used for commercial production of Uzmaq that may be employed for controlled drug release applications and bioremediation. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  6. In vivo emergence of Aspergillus terreus with reduced azole susceptibility and a Cyp51a M217I alteration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, Maiken C; Jensen, Rasmus; Grif, Katharina

    2012-01-01

    Azole resistance in Aspergillus terreus isolates was explored. Twenty related (MB) and 6 unrelated A. terreus isolates were included. CYP51A sequencing and RAPD genotyping was performed. Five MB isolates were itraconazole susceptible, whereas the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for 15 MB...

  7. Molecular characterization of black Aspergillus species from onion and their potential for ochratoxin A and fumonisin B2 production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gherbawy, Youssuf; Elhariry, Hesham; Kocsubé, Sándor; Bahobial, Abdulaziz; Deeb, Bahig El; Altalhi, Abdulla; Varga, János; Vágvölgyi, Csaba

    2015-05-01

    Onion bulbs can become contaminated with various molds during the storage period, the most important causal agents being black aspergilli (Aspergillus section Nigri). Taxonomic studies have revealed that this group of Aspergillus contains many species that cannot be reliably identified using standard morphological methods. Therefore, it is necessary to define the fungus causing this problem in the onion exactly, especially since some species assigned to section Nigri are well known as ochratoxin and/or fumonisin producers. Sixty fungal isolates belonging to 10 fungal genera were isolated from 40 onion samples originated from the Taif region in Saudi Arabia. Black aspergilli were detected in 37 onion samples. Using primer pairs (awaspec and Cmd6) designed based on partial calmodulin gene sequence data, 37 isolates were identified as A. welwitschiae. The ochratoxin A and fumonisin B2 contents of the onion samples were examined. No ochratoxins were detected in the collected samples, while fumonisin B2 was detected in 37.5% of the onion samples. Eighteen of 37 isolates of Aspergillus welwitschiae were recognized as potential producers for fumonisin B2. Multiplex polymerase chain reactions designed to detect biosynthetic genes of fumonisins confirmed these results.

  8. Antifungal Activity of Thapsia villosa Essential Oil against Candida, Cryptococcus, Malassezia, Aspergillus and Dermatophyte Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugénia Pinto

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The composition of the essential oil (EO of Thapsia villosa (Apiaceae, isolated by hydrodistillation from the plant’s aerial parts, was analysed by GC and GC-MS. Antifungal activity of the EO and its main components, limonene (57.5% and methyleugenol (35.9%, were evaluated against clinically relevant yeasts (Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans and Malassezia furfur and moulds (Aspergillus spp. and dermatophytes. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs were measured according to the broth macrodilution protocols by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI. The EO, limonene and methyleugenol displayed low MIC and MFC (minimum fungicidal concentration values against Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans, dermatophytes, and Aspergillus spp. Regarding Candida species, an inhibition of yeast–mycelium transition was demonstrated at sub-inhibitory concentrations of the EO (MIC/128; 0.01 μL/mL and their major compounds in Candida albicans. Fluconazole does not show this activity, and the combination with low concentrations of EO could associate a supplementary target for the antifungal activity. The association of fluconazole with T. villosa oil does not show antagonism, but the combination limonene/fluconazole displays synergism. The fungistatic and fungicidal activities revealed by T. villosa EO and its main compounds, associated with their low haemolytic activity, confirm their potential antimicrobial interest against fungal species often associated with human mycoses.

  9. Genetic characteristics of Japanese clinical Listeria monocytogenes isolates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoko Miya

    Full Text Available Listeria monocytogenes causes foodborne illnesses through consumption of ready-to-eat foods. Although 135-201annual listeriosis cases have been estimated in Japan, the details regarding the clinical isolates such as infection source, virulence level, and other genetic characteristics, are not known. In order to uncover the trends of listeriosis in Japan and use the knowledge for prevention measures to be taken, the genetic characteristics of the past human clinical isolates needs to be elucidated. For this purpose, multilocus tandem-repeat sequence analysis (MLTSA and multi-virulence-locus sequence typing (MVLST were used in this study. The clinical isolates showed a variety of genetically distant genotypes, indicating they were from sporadic cases. However, the MVLST profiles of 7 clinical isolates were identical to those of epidemic clone (EC I isolates, which have caused several serious outbreaks in other countries, suggesting the possibility that they have strong virulence potential and originated from a single outbreak. Moreover, 6 Japanese food isolates shared their genotypes with ECI isolates, indicating that there may be risks for listeriosis outbreak in Japan. This is the first investigational study on genetic characteristics of Japanese listeriosis isolates. The listeriosis cases happened in the past are presumably sporadic, but it is still possible that some isolates with strong virulence potential have caused listeriosis outbreaks, and future listeriosis risks also exist.

  10. In vitro and comparative study on the extracellular enzyme activity of molds isolated from keratomycosis and soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arumugam Mythili

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available AIM:To isolate and identify the molds involved in mycotic keratitis; to isolate corresponding species from soil samples; to compare the extracellular enzyme activity indices of the molds isolated from keratitis cases and the corresponding soil isolates.METHODS:The specimens were collected from the target patients attending the microbiology laboratory of tertiary eye hospital in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu state, India. The isolates were subjected for identification based on the growth on solid media, direct microscopy and lacto phenol cotton blue wet mount preparation. Extracellular enzymes such as lipase, deoxyribonuclease (DNase, α-amylase, protease, cellulase and pectinase produced by the fungalisolates were screened on solid media supplemented with the corresponding substrates. Based on growth and zone diameter, the enzyme activity indices were calculated and were compared with that of the soil fungalisolates.RESULTS:A total of 108 clinical samples were collected from a tertiary eye care hospital and out of which 60 fungal isolates were obtained. Among these, Fusarium spp. (n=30, non sporulating molds (n=9, Aspergillus flavus (n=6, Bipolaris spp. (n=6, Exserohilum spp. (n=4, Curvularia spp. (n=3, Alternaria spp. (n=1 and Exophiala spp. (n=1were identified and designated as FS1-30, NSM1-9, AF1-6, BS1-6, ES1-4, CS1-3, AS1 and EX1, respectively. For comparative analysis, soil samples were also collected from which, one isolate of each Fusarium spp., Aspergillus flavus, Bipolaris spp., Exserohilum spp., and Curvularia spp., respectively were selected. Highest lipase activity was seen in corneal isolate NSM2 (EAI= 2.14. The DNase activity was higher in NSM9 (EAI=1.88. In case of protease, Fusarium spp. (FS9 had prominent enzyme activity index of 1.38; α-amylase activity was also superior in corneal isolate FS13 with EAI of 1.63 when compared to other isolates. The enzyme activity index for cellulase was also noted to be higher in corneal isolates i

  11. Genetic relationships among strains of the Aspergillus niger aggregate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferracin, L.M.; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Taniwaki, M.H.

    2009-01-01

    We analyzed the genetic relationships between 51 fungal isolates previously identified as A. niger aggregate, obtained from dried fruit samples from worldwide origin and 7 A. tubingensis obtained from Brazilian coffee beans samples. Greater fungal diversity was found in black sultanas. Aspergillus...... niger sensu stricto was the most prevalent species. It was found in all fruit substrates of all geographical origins. Based on Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and beta-tubulin sequences data two groups of A. niger were found. In spite of the small number of isolates from Group IV...

  12. Production of bio-ethanol from corncobs using Aspergillus niger and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Maize is the most abundant cereal grown in Ghana and is accompanied by enormous amount of agrowastes of which corncobs form 30%. This agrowaste which is currently under utilized was used to produce bio-ethanol. Aspergillus niger isolated from soil sampled from Ejura farms was used to hydrolyze the corncobs into ...

  13. Aspergillus-Associated Airway Disease, Inflammation, and the Innate Immune Response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjay H. Chotirmall

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus moulds exist ubiquitously as spores that are inhaled in large numbers daily. Whilst most are removed by anatomical barriers, disease may occur in certain circumstances. Depending on the underlying state of the human immune system, clinical consequences can ensue ranging from an excessive immune response during allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis to the formation of an aspergilloma in the immunocompetent state. The severest infections occur in those who are immunocompromised where invasive pulmonary aspergillosis results in high mortality rates. The diagnosis of Aspergillus-associated pulmonary disease is based on clinical, radiological, and immunological testing. An understanding of the innate and inflammatory consequences of exposure to Aspergillus species is critical in accounting for disease manifestations and preventing sequelae. The major components of the innate immune system involved in recognition and removal of the fungus include phagocytosis, antimicrobial peptide production, and recognition by pattern recognition receptors. The cytokine response is also critical facilitating cell-to-cell communication and promoting the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of the host response. In the following review, we discuss the above areas with a focus on the innate and inflammatory response to airway Aspergillus exposure and how these responses may be modulated for therapeutic benefit.

  14. Biodegradation of HDPE by Aspergillus spp. from marine ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangeetha Devi, Rajendran; Rajesh Kannan, Velu; Nivas, Duraisamy; Kannan, Kanthaiah; Chandru, Sekar; Robert Antony, Arokiaswamy

    2015-07-15

    High density polyethylene (HDPE) is the most commonly found non-degradable solid waste among the polyethylene. In this present study, HDPE degrading various fungal strains were isolated from the polyethylene waste dumped marine coastal area and screened under in vitro condition. Based on weight loss and FT-IR Spectrophotometric analysis, two fungal strains designated as VRKPT1 and VRKPT2 were found to be efficient in HDPE degradation. Through the sequence analysis of ITS region homology, the isolated fungi were identified as Aspergillus tubingensis VRKPT1 and Aspergillus flavus VRKPT2. The biofilm formation observed under epifluorescent microscope had shown the viability of fungal strains even after one month of incubation. The biodegradation of HDPE film nature was further investigated through SEM analysis. HDPE poses severe environmental threats and hence the ability of fungal isolates was proved to utilize virgin polyethylene as the carbon source without any pre-treatment and pro-oxidant additives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Aspiperidine oxide, a piperidine N-oxide from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus indologenus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lene Maj; Kildgaard, Sara; Jaspars, Marcel

    2015-01-01

    A novel secondary metabolite, aspiperidine oxide, was isolated from the filamentous fungus, Aspergillus indologenus. The structure of aspiperidine oxide was determined from extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis supported by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The structure revealed a rare...

  16. Significance and occurrence of fumonisins from Aspergillus niger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Jesper Mølgaard

    Fumonisins is a well-studied group of mycotoxins, mainly produced in maize by Fusarium species. However with the recent discovery of a fumonisin production by Aspergillus niger, other food commodities are at risk, since A. niger is a ubiquitous contaminant of many food and feed products....... The objective of this thesis was to determine the significance and occurrence of fumonisins from Aspergillus niger in food, the frequency of fumonisin production in A. niger isolates, as well as studies of the effect of physiological factors affecting fumonisin production. Major findings in this context have...... been the ocumentation of the production of fumonisins in raisins and peanuts, and occurrence of A. niger derived fumonisins in retail wine and raisins. Physiological investigations have demonstrated that fumonisin production in A. niger occurs at temperatures between 20-37 °C. Three water activity...

  17. Antifungal susceptibilities of Candida, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus from the Asia and Western Pacific region: data from the SENTRY antifungal surveillance program (2010-2012).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaller, Michael A; Messer, Shawn A; Jones, Ronald N; Castanheira, Mariana

    2015-09-01

    The SENTRY Antifungal Surveillance Program monitors global susceptibility rates of newer and established antifungal agents. We report the in vitro activity of seven antifungal agents against 496 contemporary clinical isolates of yeasts and molds. The isolates were obtained from 20 laboratories in the Asia-Western Pacific (APAC) region during 2010 through 2012. Anidulafungin, caspofungin, micafungin, fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole and voriconazole were susceptibility tested using CLSI methods and species-specific interpretive criteria. Sequencing of fks hot spots was performed for echinocandin-resistant strains. Isolates included 13 species of Candida (n=460), 5 species of non-Candida yeasts (21), 5 species of Aspergillus (11) and 4 other molds. Echinocandin resistance was uncommon among eight species of Candida and was only detected in three isolates of Candida glabrata, two from Australia harboring mutations in fks1 (F625S) and fks2 (S663P). Resistance to the azoles was much more common and was observed among all species with the exception of Candida dubliniensis. Fluconazole resistance rates observed with C. glabrata (6.8%) was comparable to that seen with Candida parapsilosis (5.7%) and Candida tropicalis (3.6%). Cross resistance among the triazoles was seen with each of these three species. The mold-active azoles and the echinocandins were all active against isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus. Azole resistance was not detected among the isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans. Antifungal resistance is uncommon among isolates of fungi causing invasive fungal infections in the APAC region. As in other regions of the world, emerging resistance to the echinocandins among invasive isolates of C. glabrata bears close monitoring.

  18. Extracellular acid protease from Aspergillus niger I1: purification and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-09-15

    Sep 15, 2009 ... A new strain of Aspergillus niger producing acid protease was isolated and identified by universal primers NL1 and .... Media were autoclaved at 120°C for 20 min. ... molecular weight calibration kit as markers consisting of bovine ... then removed by washing the gel three times with 100 mM ..... New York.

  19. Aspergillus species as mycotoxin producers in agricultural products in central Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kočube Šandor

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus species are able to produce a range of mycotoxins, includ­ing e.g. aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins and patulin. Aflatoxins are mainly produced by members of Aspergillus section Flavi, and they contaminate various agricultural products in several parts of the world. Several recent reports have indicated that aflatoxin-producing fungi and consequently aflatoxin contamination occur in agricultural commodities in a number of European countries which have not been faced with this problem before. Indeed, recent surveys have clarified that concentrations of aflatoxins in maize products and milk has been exceeding the EU limit in several regions of Central Europe including Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Northern Italy and Romania. However, aflatoxin contamination and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus species have not been identified yet in maize in Hungary. We examined the presence of potential aflatoxin-producing Aspergilli in maize samples collected in southern parts of Hungary. Several A. flavus isolates were identified, and pre­liminary results indicated that some of the isolates were able to produce aflatoxins. Con­tamination of other agricultural products with aflatoxins can also pose problems in Central Europe due to global warming. Ochratoxin contamination of grapes and grape-derived products is usually caused by black Aspergilli, especially by A. carbonarius and A. niger, although these species have been rare in Central European vineyards due to climatic fac­tors. Ochratoxin contamination of other agricultural products including spices and cereals was also observed in the region. Besides, ochratoxin producing Aspergilli are frequently isolated from imported products including coffee beans, dried fruits and spices, and ochra­toxin contamination of these samples was also observed. Fumonisins are produced mainly by Fusarium species, and by the recently identified producers Aspergillus niger and A. awamori. We examined fumonisin

  20. Pre-screening of filamentous fungi isolated from a contaminated site ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-05-02

    May 2, 2008 ... Four Aspergillus sp. strains were isolated from contaminated soil in Rio Grande, Southern Brazil. The .... (Samapundo et al., 2007), the antifungal activities of plant extracts (Quiroga et al., 2001) and avian excreta (Osono et al., 2006) and the toxicity .... Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium chrysogenum degra-.

  1. Phytosterols elevation in bamboo shoot residue through laboratorial scale solid-state fermentation using isolated Aspergillus niger CTBU.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, X X; Chen, R S; Shen, Y; Yin, Z Y

    2014-04-01

    Aspergillus niger CTBU isolated from local decayed bamboo shoot residue was employed to solid-state fermentation (SSF) of bamboo shoot residue to elevate the content of phytosterols. Strain acclimatization was carried out under the fermentation condition using bamboo shoot as substrate for fermentation performance improvement. The optimal fermentation temperature and nitrogen level were investigated using acclimatized strain, and SSF was carried out in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask feeding 300-mg bamboo shoot residue chips under the optimal condition (33 °C and feeding 4 % urea), and 1,186 mg (100 g)(-1) of total phytosterol was attained after 5-day fermentation, in comparison, only 523 mg (100 g)(-1) of phytosterol was assayed in fresh shoots residue. HPLC analysis of the main composition of total phytosterols displays that the types of phytosterols and composition ratio of main sterols keep steady. This laboratorial scale SSF unit could be scaled up for raw phytosterols production from discarded bamboo shoot residue and could reduce its cost.

  2. Production and Characterization of Lipases by Two New Isolates of Aspergillus through Solid-State and Submerged Fermentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colla, Luciane Maria; Ficanha, Aline M. M.; Rizzardi, Juliana; Bertolin, Telma Elita; Reinehr, Christian Oliveira; Costa, Jorge Alberto Vieira

    2015-01-01

    Due to the numerous applications of lipases in industry, there is a need to study their characteristics, because lipases obtained from different sources may present different properties. The aim of this work was to accomplish the partial characterization of lipases obtained through submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation by two species of Aspergillus. Fungal strains were isolated from a diesel-contaminated soil and selected as good lipases producers. Lipases obtained through submerged fermentation presented optimal activities at 37°C and pH 7.2 and those obtained through solid-state fermentation at 35°C and pH 6.0. The enzymes produced by submerged fermentation were more temperature-stable than those obtained by solid-state fermentation, presenting 72% of residual activity after one hour of exposition at 90°C. Lipases obtained through submerged fermentation had 80% of stability in acidic pH and those obtained through solid-state fermentation had stability greater than 60% in alkaline pH. PMID:26180809

  3. Production and Characterization of Lipases by Two New Isolates of Aspergillus through Solid-State and Submerged Fermentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciane Maria Colla

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the numerous applications of lipases in industry, there is a need to study their characteristics, because lipases obtained from different sources may present different properties. The aim of this work was to accomplish the partial characterization of lipases obtained through submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation by two species of Aspergillus. Fungal strains were isolated from a diesel-contaminated soil and selected as good lipases producers. Lipases obtained through submerged fermentation presented optimal activities at 37°C and pH 7.2 and those obtained through solid-state fermentation at 35°C and pH 6.0. The enzymes produced by submerged fermentation were more temperature-stable than those obtained by solid-state fermentation, presenting 72% of residual activity after one hour of exposition at 90°C. Lipases obtained through submerged fermentation had 80% of stability in acidic pH and those obtained through solid-state fermentation had stability greater than 60% in alkaline pH.

  4. Molecular and biochemical characterization of Iranian surfactin-producing Bacillus subtilis isolates and evaluation of their biocontrol potential against Aspergillus flavus and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadipour, Matin; Mousivand, Maryam; Salehi Jouzani, Gholamreza; Abbasalizadeh, Saeed

    2009-04-01

    The characterization of surfactin-producing Bacillus subtilis isolates collected from different ecological zones of Iran is presented. Characterization was performed using blood agar, PCR, drop-collapse, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses, and the isolates' biocontrol effects against the aflatoxin-producing agent Aspergillus flavus and the citrus antracnosis agent Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were studied. In total, 290 B. subtilis isolates were isolated from phylosphere and rhizosphere samples collected from fields and gardens of 5 provinces of Iran. Blood agar assays showed that 185 isolates produced different biosurfactants. Isolates containing the sfp gene, coding for surfactin, were detected using the PCR method. It was found that 14 different isolates contained the sfp gene. Drop-collapse assays, which detect isolates with high production of surfactin, showed that 7 isolates produced high levels of surfactin. It was found from HPLC analysis that the isolates containin the sfp gene produced between 55 and 1610 mg of surfactin per litre of broth medium. Four isolates, named BS119m, BS116l, N3dn, and BS113c, produced more than 1000 mg of surfactin per litre of broth. The highest surfactin production level was observed for isolate BS119m (1610 mg/L). The antagonistic potential of the sfp gene-containing isolates was determined using dual culture and chloroform vapour methods. Our bioassay results indicated that isolate BS119m showed high inhibitory effects against A. flavus (100%) and C. gloeosporioides (88%). Furthermore, the effect of purified surfactin on the growth of A. flavus was evaluated. Mycelia growth was considerably reduced with increasing concentration of surfactin, and 36%, 54%, 84%, and 100% inhibitions of mycelia growth were, respectively, observed at 20, 40, 80, and 160 mg/L after 7 days of incubation.

  5. Aflatoxin production by Aspergillus Flavus on irradiated and non-irradiated stored egyptian bread

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elbazza, Z.E.; Mahmoud, M.I.; Fahd, M.E.; Abu Seif, F.A.

    1986-01-01

    Aflatoxins production by Aspergillus Flavus isolate on several types of egyptian bread samples through a period of 45 days at different temperatures reveled that there was detectable fungal growth but no aflatoxins were produced at 5±1 degree or 37 degree. At 25 degree or 30 degree aflatoxin were produced after 5-6 days on the different bread types. Gamma irradiation of kaiser bread, previously inoculated with Aspergillus Flavus, reduced the amount of aflatoxins produced on subsequent storage for 8 weeks at 26±1 degree. The 5 KGy dose eliminated fungal growth and aflatoxin production. 4 tab

  6. Biodiversity of Aspergillus section Nigri populations in Argentinian vineyards and ochratoxin A contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiotta, María L; Ponsone, María L; Sosa, Débora M; Combina, Mariana; Chulze, Sofía N

    2013-12-01

    Aspergillus section Nigri are described as the main source of ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination in grapes and wine worldwide. The knowledge of the factors affecting grape contamination by species included in this section and OTA production is essential to be able to reduce their presence, not only to improve wine quality, but also to maintain their safety. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the incidence of Aspergillus section Nigri species harvested in different grape-growing regions from Argentina, their ability to produce OTA, to correlate with meteorological conditions and geographical coordinates with their prevalence and to evaluate the OTA natural occurrence in grapes and wines. The morphological identification showed that Aspergillus niger aggregate species were the most prevalent ones, followed by Aspergillus carbonarius and Aspergillus uniseriate. These populations were confirmed through using AFLP markers and sequencing and, Aspergillus tubingensis was separated from A. niger aggregate. Climatic factors, altitude, longitude and latitude have influenced on the distribution of species included in the section. A. carbonarius and A. niger were OTA producers but differed in their OTA producing ability. Temperature was the factor which influenced the most over the highest incidence of A. carbonarius in La Rioja and San Juan regions. The trellis system in vineyards and drip irrigation also influenced the species isolation. The OTA levels detected in grapes and wines were low, but grape variety was more important in susceptibility to fungal infection and OTA levels. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Improvement of raw starch digestibility by ion-beam mutation of Aspergillus awamori

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amsal, Aryanti [National Atomic Energy Agency, Jakarta (Indonesia); Takigami, Machiko; Ito, Hitoshi

    1998-09-01

    Aspergillus awamori possess the ability to express raw starch digestibility. For the effective utilization of starchy crops produced in South-Asian countries, it is important to achieve the digestion of raw starchs for industrial fermentation process. In this study, higher ratio of mutant strains of Aspergillus awamori IFO4033 were isolated by irradiation of C{sup 5+} ion-beam on freeze dried spores with improvement of enzyme production for two-to threefold in the extracellular {alpha}-amylase compared with gamma-irradiation. The digestibility of raw starch from cassava, sago and sukun increased remarkably about two-to threefold by some mutant strains obtained from irradiation of C{sup 5+} ion-beam. (author)

  8. Improvement of raw starch digestibility by ion-beam mutation of Aspergillus awamori

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amsal, Aryanti; Takigami, Machiko; Ito, Hitoshi

    1998-01-01

    Aspergillus awamori possess the ability to express raw starch digestibility. For the effective utilization of starchy crops produced in South-Asian countries, it is important to achieve the digestion of raw starchs for industrial fermentation process. In this study, higher ratio of mutant strains of Aspergillus awamori IFO4033 were isolated by irradiation of C 5+ ion-beam on freeze dried spores with improvement of enzyme production for two-to threefold in the extracellular α-amylase compared with gamma-irradiation. The digestibility of raw starch from cassava, sago and sukun increased remarkably about two-to threefold by some mutant strains obtained from irradiation of C 5+ ion-beam. (author)

  9. Data on the presence or absence of genes encoding essential proteins for ochratoxin and fumonisin biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus welwitschiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Pelisson Massi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We present the multiplex PCR data for the presence/absence of genes involved in OTA and FB2 biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger/Aspergillus welwitschiae strains isolated from different food substrates in Brazil. Among the 175 strains analyzed, four mPCR profiles were found: Profile 1 (17% highlights strains harboring in their genome the pks, radH and the fum8 genes. Profile 2 (3.5% highlights strains harboring genes involved in OTA biosynthesis i.e. radH and pks. Profile 3 (51.5% highlights strains harboring the fum8 gene. Profile 4 (28% highlights strains not carrying the genes studied herein. This research content is supplemental to our original research article, “Prospecting for the incidence of genes involved in ochratoxin and fumonisin biosynthesis in Brazilian strains of A. niger and A. welwitschiae” [1].

  10. Application of Aspergillus niger SA1 for the enhanced bioremoval of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biological remediation is always envisaged as cost effective and eco-friendly for the treatment of recalcitrant dyes and effluents. Aspergillus niger SA1, a brown rot fungi, isolated from storage pond of textile wastewater, showed a great mineralizing ability for azo dyes, acid red (AR) 151 and orange (Or) II. Decolorization ...

  11. Triazole resistance surveillance in Aspergillus fumigatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resendiz Sharpe, Agustin; Lagrou, Katrien; Meis, Jacques F; Chowdhary, Anuradha; Lockhart, Shawn R; Verweij, Paul E

    2018-04-01

    Triazole resistance is an increasing concern in the opportunistic mold Aspergillus fumigatus. Resistance can develop through exposure to azole compounds during azole therapy or in the environment. Resistance mutations are commonly found in the Cyp51A-gene, although other known and unknown resistance mechanisms may be present. Surveillance studies show triazole resistance in six continents, although the presence of resistance remains unknown in many countries. In most countries, resistance mutations associated with the environment dominate, but it remains unclear if these resistance traits predominately migrate or arise locally. Patients with triazole-resistant aspergillus disease may fail to antifungal therapy, but only a limited number of cohort studies have been performed that show conflicting results. Treatment failure might be due to diagnostic delay or due to the limited number of alternative treatment options. The ISHAM/ECMM Aspergillus Resistance Surveillance working group was set up to facilitate surveillance studies and stimulate international collaborations. Important aims are to determine the resistance epidemiology in countries where this information is currently lacking, to gain more insight in the clinical implications of triazole resistance through a registry and to unify nomenclature through consensus definitions.

  12. Local isolate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as biocompetitive agent of Aspergillus flavus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eni Kusumaningtyas

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus flavus is a toxigenic fungus that contaminates feed and influences the animal health. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used as a biocompetitive agent to control the contamination. The ability of local isolate of S. cerevisiae as a biocompetitive agent for A. flavus was evaluated. A. flavus (30ml was swept on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA, while S. cerevisiae was swept on its left and right. Plates were incubated at 28oC for nine days. Lytic activity of S. cerevisiae was detected by pouring its suspension on the centre of the cross streaks of A. flavus. Plates were incubated at 28oC for five days. Growth inhibition of A. flavus by S. cerevisiae was determined by mixing the two fungi on Potato dextrose broth and incubated at 28oC for 24 hours. Total colony of A. flavus were then observed at incubation time of 2, 4, 6 and 24 hours by pour plates method on the SDA plates and incubated on 28oC for two days. Growth of hyphae of A. flavus sweep were inhibited with the swept of S. cerevisiae. The width of A. flavus colony treated with S. cerevisiae is narrower (3,02 cm than that of control ( 4,60 cm. The growth of A. flavus was also inhibited on the centre of cross streak where the S. cerevisiae poured. S. cerevisiae gradually reduced the colony number of A. flavus in the mixed culture of broth fungi ie. 14 x 103 CFU/ml while colony number of control is 80 x 103 CFU/ml. Results showed that S. cerevisiae could be used as biocompetitive agent of A. flavus.

  13. Differential role of gpaB and sidA gene expressions in relation to virulence in Aspergillus species from patients with invasive aspergillosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghods, Nayereh; Falahati, Mehraban; Roudbary, Maryam; Farahyar, Shirin; Shamaei, Masoud; Pourabdollah, Mahin; Seif, Farhad

    2018-02-03

    The virulence genes in invasive aspergillosis (IA) have not been analyzed adequately. The present study was designed to evaluate the expression of gpaB and sidA genes, which are important virulence genes in Aspergillus spp. from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples. Direct examination and culture on Czapek Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar media were performed for 600 BAL specimens isolated from patients with possible aspergillosis. A Galactomannan ELISA assay was also carried out. The expression levels of the gpaB and sidA genes in isolates were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). We identified 2 species, including Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) and Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) in 25 positive samples for invasive aspergillosis as validated using GM-ELISA. A. flavus is the main pathogen threatening transplant recipients and cancer patients worldwide. In this study, A. flavus had low levels of the gpaB gene expression compared to A. fumigatus (p=0.006). The highest sidA expression was detected in transplant recipients (p=0.05). There was no significant correlation between sidA expression and underlying disease (p=0.15). The sidA and gpaB gene expression patterns may provide evidence that these virulence genes play important roles in the pathogenicity of Aspergillus isolates; however, there are several regulatory genes responsible for the unexpressed sidA and gpaB genes in the isolates. Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  14. Antagonistic Bioactivity of Endophytic Actinomycetes Isolated from Medicinal Plants

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    M. Gangwar

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Endophytic actinomycetes are promising biocontrol agents for use in agriculture and have been isolated from various plant species. In the present study, 40 endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from roots, stems and leaves of three medicinal plants viz. Aloe vera, Mentha arvensis and Ocimum sanctum. The identification revealed that the majority of the isolates were Streptomyces spp. and the rest were identified as Saccharopolyspora spp., Micromonospora spp. and Actinopolyspora spp. The dual tests revealed that nine endophytic actinomycete isolates displayed a wide spectrum activity against nine fungal phytopathogens. Out of 8 isolates, 90% inhibited the growth of at least one or more phytopathogenic fungi and Saccharopolyspora 0-9 (Out of 8 isolates, 90% inhibited the growth of at least one or more phytopathogenic fungi and Saccharopolyspora 0-9 exhibited antagonistic activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium digitatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium pinophilum, Phytophthora dresclea and Colletotrichum falcatum.

  15. Conversion of fusaric acid to fusarinol by Aspergillus niger: A detoxification reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    The fungus Fusarium oxysporum causes wilt diseases of plants and produces a potent phytotoxin fusaric acid (FA) which is also toxic to many microorganisms. An Aspergillus strain with high tolerance to FA was isolated from soil. HPLC analysis of culture filtrates from A. niger grown with the addition...

  16. Genetic and Toxigenic Variability within Aspergillus flavus Population Isolated from Maize in Two Diverse Environments in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila Okoth

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus flavus is the main producer of carcinogenic aflatoxins in agricultural commodities such as maize. This fungus occurs naturally on crops, and produces aflatoxins when environmental conditions are favorable. The aim of this study is to analyse the genetic variability among 109 A. flavus isolates previously recovered from maize sampled from a known aflatoxin-hotspot (Eastern region, Kenya and the major maize-growing area in the Rift Valley (Kenya, and to determine their toxigenic potential. DNA analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS regions of ribosomal DNA, partial β-tubulin gene (benA and calmodulin gene (CaM sequences were used. The strains were further analyzed for the presence of four aflatoxin-biosynthesis genes in relation to their capability to produce aflatoxins and other metabolites, targeting the regulatory gene aflR and the structural genes aflP, aflD, and aflQ. In addition, the metabolic profile of the fungal strains was unraveled using state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS instrumentation. The three gene-sequence data grouped the isolates into two major clades, A. minisclerotigenes and A. flavus. A. minisclerotigenes was most prevalent in Eastern Kenya, while A. flavus was common in both regions. A. parasiticus was represented by a single isolate collected from Rift Valley. Diversity existed within the A. flavus population, which formed several subclades. An inconsistency in identification of some isolates using the three markers was observed. The calmodulin gene sequences showed wider variation of polymorphisms. The aflatoxin production pattern was not consistent with the presence of aflatoxigenic genes, suggesting an inability of the primers to always detect the genes or presence of genetic mutations. Significant variation was observed in toxin profiles of the isolates. This is the first time that a profound metabolic profiling of A. flavus isolates was done in Kenya. Positive associations were evident for some metabolites

  17. Genetic and Toxigenic Variability within Aspergillus flavus Population Isolated from Maize in Two Diverse Environments in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okoth, Sheila; De Boevre, Marthe; Vidal, Arnau; Diana Di Mavungu, José; Landschoot, Sofie; Kyallo, Martina; Njuguna, Joyce; Harvey, Jagger; De Saeger, Sarah

    2018-01-01

    Aspergillus flavus is the main producer of carcinogenic aflatoxins in agricultural commodities such as maize. This fungus occurs naturally on crops, and produces aflatoxins when environmental conditions are favorable. The aim of this study is to analyse the genetic variability among 109 A. flavus isolates previously recovered from maize sampled from a known aflatoxin-hotspot (Eastern region, Kenya) and the major maize-growing area in the Rift Valley (Kenya), and to determine their toxigenic potential. DNA analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA, partial β-tubulin gene (benA) and calmodulin gene (CaM) sequences were used. The strains were further analyzed for the presence of four aflatoxin-biosynthesis genes in relation to their capability to produce aflatoxins and other metabolites, targeting the regulatory gene aflR and the structural genes aflP, aflD, and aflQ. In addition, the metabolic profile of the fungal strains was unraveled using state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS instrumentation. The three gene-sequence data grouped the isolates into two major clades, A. minisclerotigenes and A. flavus . A. minisclerotigenes was most prevalent in Eastern Kenya, while A. flavus was common in both regions. A. parasiticus was represented by a single isolate collected from Rift Valley. Diversity existed within the A. flavus population, which formed several subclades. An inconsistency in identification of some isolates using the three markers was observed. The calmodulin gene sequences showed wider variation of polymorphisms. The aflatoxin production pattern was not consistent with the presence of aflatoxigenic genes, suggesting an inability of the primers to always detect the genes or presence of genetic mutations. Significant variation was observed in toxin profiles of the isolates. This is the first time that a profound metabolic profiling of A. flavus isolates was done in Kenya. Positive associations were evident for some metabolites, while for

  18. Insights from the genome of a high alkaline cellulase producing Aspergillus fumigatus strain obtained from Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Sujay; Zhang, Angel; Ludeña, Yvette; Villena, Gretty K; Yu, Fengan; Sherman, David H; Gutiérrez-Correa, Marcel

    2017-06-10

    Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a high alkaline cellulase producing Aspergillus fumigatus strain LMB-35Aa isolated from soil of Peruvian Amazon rainforest. The genome is ∼27.5mb in size, comprises of 228 scaffolds with an average GC content of 50%, and is predicted to contain a total of 8660 protein-coding genes. Of which, 6156 are with known function; it codes for 607 putative CAZymes families potentially involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Several important cellulose degrading genes, such as endoglucanase A, endoglucanase B, endoglucanase D and beta-glucosidase, are also identified. The genome of A. fumigatus strain LMB-35Aa represents the first whole sequenced genome of non-clinical, high cellulase producing A. fumigatus strain isolated from forest soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Aspergillus--classification and antifungal susceptibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzina, Walter

    2013-01-01

    Aspergillus is one of the most important fungal genera for the man, for its industrial use, its ability to spoil food and not least its medical impact as cause of a variety of diseases. Currently hundreds of species of Aspergillus are known; nearly fifty of them are able to cause infections in humans and animals. Recently, the genus Aspergillus is subdivided into 8 subgenera and 22 sections. The spectrum of diseases caused by Aspergillus species varies from superficial cutaneous to invasive and systemic infections. All species of Aspergillus investigated so far are resistant against the antifungals fluconazole and 5-fluorocytosine, the range of susceptibilities to currently available antifungals is discussed in this paper.

  20. Dereplication Guided Discovery of Secondary Metabolites of Mixed Biosynthetic Origin from Aspergillus aculeatus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lene Maj; Hoeck, Casper; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2014-01-01

    Investigation of the chemical profile of the industrially important black filamentous fungus Aspergillus aculeatus by UHPLC-DAD-HRMS and subsequent dereplication has led to the discovery of several novel compounds. Isolation and extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses allowed for structura...

  1. ISOLATION OF FUNGI FROM THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OF INDIGENOUS CHICKEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Yudiarti

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Gastrointestinal tract of chicken is a place in which many kinds of fungi can be found. The aim ofthe research was to isolate fungi from the gastrointestinal tract of the indigenous chicken (AyamKampung. The chicken samples were four days, one week and two months old and were sampled fromchicken farm located in Yogyakarta. Potato dextrose agar (PDA medium was used to grow the fungi.Fifty pure isolates of fungi were found from three different ages, those were four days, one week andtwo months old chicken were 5, 10 and 35 isolates respectively. The largest number of isolate was foundin ileum, then followed by caecum, jejenum and duodenum. The fifty isolate of fungi belonged to sevenspecies, those were Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Chrysonilia crassa, Mucor circinelloides,Mucor sp, Rhizopus oligosporus and Rhizopus oryzae.

  2. ISOLATION OF FUNGI FROM THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OF INDIGENOUS CHICKEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Kusdiyantini

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Gastrointestinal tract of chicken is a place in which many kinds of fungi can be found. The aim of the research was to isolate fungi from the gastrointestinal tract of the indigenous chicken (Ayam Kampung. The chicken samples were four days, one week and two months old and were sampled from chicken farm located in Yogyakarta. Potato dextrose agar (PDA medium was used to grow the fungi. Fifty pure isolates of fungi were found from three different ages, those were four days, one week and two months old chicken were 5, 10 and 35 isolates respectively. The largest number of isolate was found in ileum, then followed by caecum, jejenum and duodenum. The fifty isolate of fungi belonged to seven species, those were Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Chrysonilia crassa, Mucor circinelloides, Mucor sp, Rhizopus oligosporus and Rhizopus oryzae.

  3. Periprosthetic hip joint infection with Aspergillus terreus: A clinical case and a review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Bartash

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Fungal periprosthetic joint infections due to Aspergillus species are rare but are associated with significant cost and morbidity. We present a case of Asperigillus terreus prosthetic joint infection of the hip. The patient was successfully treated with a prolonged course of systemic antifungals along with surgical management. Keywords: Fungal prosthetic joint infection, Aspergillus terreus

  4. Combined molecular and biochemical approach identifies Aspergillus japonicus and Aspergillus aculeatus as two species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parenicova, L.; Skouboe, P.; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2001-01-01

    of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5.8S rRNA gene could not be used to distinguish between A. japonicus and A. aculeatus but did show that these two taxa are more closely related to each other than to other species of black aspergilli. Aspergillus niger pyruvate kinase (pkiA) and pectin...... variation when they were probed with the pelA gene. The secondary-metabolite profiles supported division of the isolates into the two species and differed from those of other black aspergilli. The strains classified as A. japonicus produced indole alkaloids and a polar metabolite, while the A. aculeatus...... lyase A (pelA) and Agaricus bisporus 28S rRNA genes, which were used as probes in the RFLP analysis, revealed clear polymorphism between these two taxa. The A. niger pkiA and pelA probes placed six strains in an A. japonicus group and 12 isolates in an A. aculeatus group, which exhibited intraspecific...

  5. Aspergillus Polymerase Chain Reaction: Systematic Review of Evidence for Clinical Use in Comparison With Antigen Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, P. Lewis; Wingard, John R.; Bretagne, Stéphane; Löffler, Jürgen; Patterson, Thomas F.; Slavin, Monica A.; Barnes, Rosemary A.; Pappas, Peter G.; Donnelly, J. Peter

    2015-01-01

    Background. Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was excluded from the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) definitions of invasive fungal disease because of limited standardization and validation. The definitions are being revised. Methods. A systematic literature review was performed to identify analytical and clinical information available on inclusion of galactomannan enzyme immunoassay (GM-EIA) (2002) and β-d-glucan (2008), providing a minimal threshold when considering PCR. Categorical parameters and statistical performance were compared. Results. When incorporated, GM-EIA and β-d-glucan sensitivities and specificities for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis were 81.6% and 91.6%, and 76.9% and 89.4%, respectively. Aspergillus PCR has similar sensitivity and specificity (76.8%–88.0% and 75.0%–94.5%, respectively) and comparable utility. Methodological recommendations and commercial PCR assays assist standardization. Although all tests have limitations, currently, PCR is the only test with independent quality control. Conclusions. We propose that there is sufficient evidence that is at least equivalent to that used to include GM-EIA and β-d-glucan testing, and that PCR is now mature enough for inclusion in the EORTC/MSG definitions. PMID:26113653

  6. Kinetics of improved 1,4-alpha-D-glucan glucohydrolase biosynthesis from a newly isolated Aspergillus oryzae IIB-6 and parameter significance analysis by 2-factorial design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatima, Bilqees; Ali, Sikander

    2012-01-01

    Sixteen different mould cultures viz. Aspergillus, Alternaria, Arthroderma, Trichoderma, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Chochliobolus were isolated from the soil samples of Qatar by serial dilution method. The preliminary screening of isolates was done by selecting initial colonies showing relatively bigger zones of starch hydrolysis on nutrient agar plates. The isolates were then subjected to secondary screening by submerged fermentation (SmF). The 1,4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase (GGH) activity ranged from 1.906-12.675 U/ml/min. The product yield was analysed in dependence of mycelial morphology, biomass level and protein content. The isolate Aspergillus oryzae llB-6 which gave maximum enzyme production was incubated in M3 medium containing 20 g/l starch, 10 g/l lactose, 8.5 g/l yeast extract, 6 g/l corn steep liquor (CSL), 1.2 g/l MgSO4.7H2O, 1.3 g/l NH4Cl, 0.6 g/l CaCl2.2H2O, pH 5 at 30±2°C and 200 rpm. On the basis of kinetic variables, notably Qp (0.058±0.01(a) U/g/h), Yp/s (0.308±0.03(ab) U/g) and qp (0.210±0.032(abc) U/g fungal biomass/h), A. oryzae IIB-6 was found to be a hyper producer of GGH (LSD 0.0345) compared to A. kawachii IIB-2. A noticeable enhancement in enzyme activity of over 30% was observed (13.917±1.01 U/ml/min) when the process parameters viz. cultural conditions (pH 5, incubation period 72 h) and nutritional requirements (6 g/l CSL, 9.5 g/l yeast extract, 10 g/l starch, 20 g/l lactose) were further optimized using a 2-factorial Plackett-Burman design. The model terms were found to be highly significant (HS, p≤0.05), indicating the potential utility of the culture (dof~3).

  7. Single cell transcriptomics of neighboring hyphae of Aspergillus niger

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Single cell profiling was performed to assess differences in RNA accumulation in neighboring hyphae of the fungus Aspergillus niger. A protocol was developed to isolate and amplify RNA from single hyphae or parts thereof. Microarray analysis resulted in a present call for 4 to 7% of the A. niger genes, of which 12% showed heterogeneous RNA levels. These genes belonged to a wide range of gene categories. PMID:21816052

  8. 76 FR 16297 - Aspergillus flavus

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-23

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 180 [EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0101; FRL-8868-7] Aspergillus... for residues of the microbial pesticide, Aspergillus flavus AF36, in or on corn food and feed... to the existing exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for Aspergillus flavus AF36. This...

  9. Chemodiversity in the genus Aspergillus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frisvad, Jens Christian; Larsen, Thomas Ostenfeld

    2015-01-01

    to be characterized. The genus Aspergillus is cladistically holophyletic but phenotypically polythetic and very diverse and is associated to quite different sexual states. Following the one fungus one name system, the genus Aspergillus is restricted to a holophyletic clade that include the morphologically different...... biosynthetic family isoextrolites. However, it appears that secondary metabolites from one Aspergillus section have analogous metabolites in other sections (here also called heteroisoextrolites). In this review, we give a genus-wide overview of secondary metabolite production in Aspergillus species. Extrolites...

  10. Isolation and identification of normal conjunctival fungal flora in the Persian Kurd horse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    saber Mamaghani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to identify the fungi isolated from conjunctival sac of clinically normal Persian Kurd horses of Tabriz, north western Iran and to determine the effect of sex and age variations on the frequency of isolates. Forty horses (17 females and 23 males, aged 2-30 years, without clinical evidence of external ocular inflammation were selected and divided into two age groups (less than 10 years and over 10 years. Samples were taken from both conjunctival sacs of horses and seeded on the sabouraud dextrose agar and malt extract agar. Plates were incubated at 25°C for 7 days. Data were analyzed by Chi-square, Fisher's exact and Kendall Tau tests using SAS 9.1. Filamentous fungi and yeasts comprised 82.35% and 17.65% of total isolates, respectively. The most frequent isolate was Aspergillus species (38.82 % followed by Penicillium spp (14.12%, Fusarium spp (8.24%, Chladosporium, Mucor and Scopulariopsis spp (5.88%, Pseudallescheria, Rhodotorula and Trichoderma spp (1.18 %. Gender had a significant effect on frequency of fungal isolation (p

  11. Post-genomic insights into the plant polysaccharide degradation potential of Aspergillus nidulans and comparison to Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coutinho, Pedro M.; Andersen, Mikael Rørdam; Kolenova, Katarina

    2009-01-01

    The plant polysaccharide degradative potential of Aspergillus nidulans was analysed in detail and compared to that of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae using a combination of bioinformatics, physiology and transcriptomics. Manual verification indicated that 28.4% of the A. nidulans ORFs...... between the Aspergilli in the presence Of putative regulatory sequences in the promoters of the ORFs Of this Study and correlation of the presence Of putative XlnR binding sites to induction by xylose was detected for A. niger. These data demonstrate differences at genome content, Substrate specificity...

  12. Comparative transcriptome analysis of Aspergillus flavus isolates under different oxidative stresses and culture media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination in the field are known to be influenced by numerous stress factors, particularly drought and heat stress. However, the purpose of aflatoxin production is unknown. Here, we report transcriptome analyses comprised of 282.6 Gb of sequencing data describing...

  13. Aspergillus flavus: human pathogen, allergen and mycotoxin producer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedayati, M T; Pasqualotto, A C; Warn, P A; Bowyer, P; Denning, D W

    2007-06-01

    Aspergillus infections have grown in importance in the last years. However, most of the studies have focused on Aspergillus fumigatus, the most prevalent species in the genus. In certain locales and hospitals, Aspergillus flavus is more common in air than A. fumigatus, for unclear reasons. After A. fumigatus, A. flavus is the second leading cause of invasive aspergillosis and it is the most common cause of superficial infection. Experimental invasive infections in mice show A. flavus to be 100-fold more virulent than A. fumigatus in terms of inoculum required. Particularly common clinical syndromes associated with A. flavus include chronic granulomatous sinusitis, keratitis, cutaneous aspergillosis, wound infections and osteomyelitis following trauma and inoculation. Outbreaks associated with A. flavus appear to be associated with single or closely related strains, in contrast to those associated with A. fumigatus. In addition, A. flavus produces aflatoxins, the most toxic and potent hepatocarcinogenic natural compounds ever characterized. Accurate species identification within Aspergillus flavus complex remains difficult due to overlapping morphological and biochemical characteristics, and much taxonomic and population genetics work is necessary to better understand the species and related species. The flavus complex currently includes 23 species or varieties, including two sexual species, Petromyces alliaceus and P. albertensis. The genome of the highly related Aspergillus oryzae is completed and available; that of A. flavus in the final stages of annotation. Our understanding of A. flavus lags far behind that of A. fumigatus. Studies of the genomics, taxonomy, population genetics, pathogenicity, allergenicity and antifungal susceptibility of A. flavus are all required.

  14. In vitro antimicrobial activity of ten medicinal plants against clinical isolates of oral cancer cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaushal Vivek

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Suppression of immune system in treated cancer patients may lead to secondary infections that obviate the need of antibiotics. In the present study, an attempt was made to understand the occurrence of secondary infections in immuno-suppressed patients along with herbal control of these infections with the following objectives to: (a isolate the microbial species from the treated oral cancer patients along with the estimation of absolute neutrophile counts of patients (b assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity medicinal plants against the above clinical isolates. Methods Blood and oral swab cultures were taken from 40 oral cancer patients undergoing treatment in the radiotherapy unit of Regional Cancer Institute, Pt. B.D.S. Health University, Rohtak, Haryana. Clinical isolates were identified by following general microbiological, staining and biochemical methods. The absolute neutrophile counts were done by following the standard methods. The medicinal plants selected for antimicrobial activity analysis were Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., Asparagus racemosus Willd., Balanites aegyptiaca L., Cestrum diurnum L., Cordia dichotoma G. Forst, Eclipta alba L., Murraya koenigii (L. Spreng. , Pedalium murex L., Ricinus communis L. and Trigonella foenum graecum L. The antimicrobial efficacy of medicinal plants was evaluated by modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. MIC and MFC were investigated by serial two fold microbroth dilution method. Results Prevalent bacterial pathogens isolated were Staphylococcus aureus (23.2%, Escherichia coli (15.62%, Staphylococcus epidermidis (12.5%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.37%, Klebsiella pneumonia (7.81%, Proteus mirabilis (3.6%, Proteus vulgaris (4.2% and the fungal pathogens were Candida albicans (14.6%, Aspergillus fumigatus (9.37%. Out of 40 cases, 35 (87.5% were observed as neutropenic. Eight medicinal plants (A. tenuifolius, A. racemosus, B. aegyptiaca, E. alba, M. koenigii, P. murex R

  15. Morpho-molecular identification of a novel aspergillus spp. and its cultural optimization for lipases production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iftikhar, T.; Niaz, M.; Haider, M.Z.; Sidra, A.

    2014-01-01

    Different lipid rich products were used to obtain oil degrading fungal isolates. The isolates were codified for referral to our culture bank and compared for their lipolytic potential. Amongst the isolates, MBL-1412 isolated from the cooked sliced cicer arietinum (Channa Daal) was found to be a potent hyper-producer and was optimized for lipase production under solid state fermentation. Initial systematic treatment based upon micrometric data and consultation with the standard monographs and fungus ended up with its identification as Aspergillus sp. The identification confirmed that the fungus belongs to genus Aspergillus, by DNA barcoding marker like 18S RNA gene sequence.Later, the sequence was registered with accession no. KM924434 in the public nucleotide library (genbank) of NCBI. Fungal culture was maintained on 2% potato dextrose agar (PDA) during the study. Diverse substrates of agricultural byproducts under varied incubation temperature, time interval, inoculum level and different pH of diluent were used as parameters of optimization for hyper-production of lipases. Different carbon and nitrogen sources as additives of culture medium were applied for enhancement of lipase production. Almond meal (10g) with inoculum level at 1.5 mL after 48 h of time course at 50 degree C and 6 pH were selected to be the best eco-cultural conditions for optimal lipases production by Aspergillus sp. MBL-1412. Supplementary additives of nitrogen and carbon sources to the basal substrate improved lipases production appreciably. Ammonium chloride (1%) as inorganic nitrogen source, nutrient broth (0.8%) as organic nitrogen source and starch (0.8%) as carbon source were found as best media additives for enhanced extracellular lipases yield. (author)

  16. Fusarium and Aspergillus mycotoxins contaminating wheat silage for dairy cattle feeding in Uruguay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agustina del Palacio

    Full Text Available Abstract Wheat is one of the most important cultivated cereals in Uruguay for human consumption; however, when harvest yields are low, wheat is usually used in ensiling for animal feeding. Ensiling is a forage preservation method that allows for storage during extended periods of time while maintaining nutritional values comparable to fresh pastures. Silage is vulnerable to contamination by spoilage molds and mycotoxins because ensilage materials are excellent substrates for fungal growth. The aim of the study was to identify the mycobiota composition and occurrence of aflatoxins and DON from wheat silage. A total of 220 samples of wheat were collected from four farms in the southwest region of Uruguay were silage practices are developed. The main fungi isolated were Fusarium (43% and Aspergillus (36%, with Fusarium graminearum sensu lato and Aspergillus section Flavi being the most prevalent species. Aflatoxin concentrations in silo bags ranged from 6.1 to 23.3 µg/kg, whereas DON levels ranged between 3000 µg/kg and 12,400 µg/kg. When evaluating aflatoxigenic capacity, 27.5% of Aspergillus section Flavi strains produced AFB1, 5% AFB2, 10% AFG1 and 17.5% AFG2. All isolates of F. graminearum sensu lato produced DON and 15-AcDON. The results from this study contribute to the knowledge of mycobiota and mycotoxins present in wheat silage.

  17. Proteomic analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus - clinical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moloney, Nicola M; Owens, Rebecca A; Doyle, Sean

    2016-07-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous saprophytic fungus capable of producing small airborne spores, which are frequently inhaled by humans. In healthy individuals, the fungus is rapidly cleared by innate mechanisms, including immune cells. However, in individuals with impaired lung function or immunosuppression the spores can germinate and prompt severe allergic responses, and disease with limited or extensive invasiveness. The traits that make A. fumigatus a successful colonizer and pathogen of humans are multi-factorial. Thus, a global investigative approach is required to elucidate the mechanisms utilized by the fungus to cause disease. Expert commentary: In doing so, a better understanding of disease pathology can be achieved with improved therapeutic/diagnostic solutions, thereby improving patient outcome. Proteomic analysis permits such investigations and recent work has yielded insight into these mechanisms.

  18. Trichocomaceae: biodiversity of Aspergillus spp and Penicillium spp residing in libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leite, Diniz Pereira; Yamamoto, Ana Caroline Akeme; Amadio, Janaína Vasconcellos Ribeiro de Souza; Martins, Evelin Rodrigues; do Santos, Fábio Alexandre Leal; Simões, Sara de Almeida Alves; Hahn, Rosane Christine

    2012-10-19

    Atmospheric air is the most common vehicle for the dispersion of fungi. Fungi belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are cosmopolitan and are classified in the family Trichocomaceae. Species of the genera are commonly found in soil, decaying organic materials, animal feed, stored grains, and other materials. This study aimed to determine the taxonomic diversity of airborne fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium residing in the dust of library environments to contribute to current knowledge of these characteristic genera. Three libraries in the city of Cuiaba, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, were selected as the study areas. A total of 168 samples were collected at randomized sites within each library in areas containing journals, archives, in study rooms, and in collection storage areas in two different periods, the dry season (n = 42)  and the rainy season (n = 42). Samples were collected by exposing Petri dishes containing Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol to the environmental air. Additional samples were collected with sterile swabs which were rubbed over the surface of randomly chosen books on the shelves; the swabs were subsequently incubated in the laboratory. The genus Aspergillus was highlighted as one of the principal airborne fungi present in indoor environments. Aspergillus spp was identified in 1,277 (89.6%) samples and Penicillium spp in 148 (10.4%). The dry period exhibited a greater number of isolates of the two taxons.

  19. Aspergillus in endodontic infection near the maxillary sinus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cinthya Cristina Gomes

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Diseases of the maxillary sinus have been associated with dental roots near the maxillary sinus that have undergone endodontic treatment. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the presence of filamentous fungi in patients with dental roots near the maxillary sinus who had apical periodontitis treated endodontically, and to alert practitioners that this could be a possible avenue of contamination of the sinus in patients who develop maxillary sinus infection. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in 60 palatal roots of the first maxillary molars near the maxillary sinus, that underwent endodontic treatment for apical periodontitis. After removal of the filling material, dentin shavings were collected and placed in test tubes containing Sabouraud dextrose agar and chloramphenicol. The phenotype was determined by macroscopic and microscopic examination of the colonies. For polymerase chain reaction, the primers ITS-5 and ITS-4 were used. The sequences obtained were compared with those deposited at GenBank using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool program. RESULTS: Filamentous fungi were isolated from 6 of 60 canals (10%:Aspergillus niger (6.7%, Aspergillus versicolor (1.6%, and Aspergillus fumigatus(1.6%. CONCLUSION: Root canals near the maxillary sinus with endodontic treatment and apical periodontitis may exhibit positive cultures for filamentous fungi. Interested professionals should be alert, because these microorganisms have pathogenic characteristics that can cause disease of odontogenic origin in the maxillary sinus.

  20. Some Orchid Species Fungi Isolated by Different Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arzu ÇIĞ

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Due to their very small seeds that do not contain endosperm, many terrestrial orchid species require the presence of fungi in order to germinate and maintain their lives; and symbiotic culture studies are being carried out on this topic. For the purpose of determining the orchid species on which the fungus to be used as inoculants in the symbiotic culture will be effective, fungi isolated through several isolation methods are cultured with orchid species. In this study a total of four different isolation methods were applied as one on the tubers and rhizomes and three on the soil of eleven orchid species from the Anacamptis, Cephalanthera, Dactylorhiza and Orchis genera. Three different culture media were used in the methods. At the end of the study Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Macrophomina, Rhizoctonia, Trichoderma and Verticillium fungi were isolated. In the study that was conducted with the aimed to isolate particularly Rhizoctania spp. fungi, the fungi was isolated from the tubers of Dactylorhiza umbrosa and Orchis palustris species and the soil of the Orchis simia species. Fusarium and Aspergillus species were isolated the most in all implemented methods and from all species.

  1. Determination of Aspergillus pathogens in agricultural products by a specific nanobody-polyclonal antibody sandwich ELISA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ting; Li, Peiwu; Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Wen; Zhang, Zhaowei; Wang, Tong; He, Ting

    2017-06-28

    Aspergillus and its poisonous mycotoxins are distributed worldwide throughout the environment and are of particular interest in agriculture and food safety. In order to develop a specific method for rapid detection of Aspergillus flavus to forecast diseases and control aflatoxins, a nanobody, PO8-VHH, highly reactive to A. flavus was isolated from an immunized alpaca nanobody library by phage display. The nanobody was verified to bind to the components of extracellular and intracellular antigen from both A. flavus and A. parasiticus. To construct a sandwich format immunoassay, polyclonal antibodies against Aspergillus were raised with rabbits. Finally, a highly selective nanobody-polyclonal antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was optimized and developed. The results revealed that the detection limits of the two fungi were as low as 1 μg mL -1 , and that it is able to detect fungal concentrations below to 2 μg mg -1 of peanut and maize grains in both artificially and naturally contaminated samples. Therefore, we here provided a rapid and simple method for monitoring Aspergillus spp. contamination in agricultural products.

  2. ZnS semiconductor quantum dots production by an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uddandarao, Priyanka, E-mail: uddandaraopriyanka@gmail.com; B, Raj Mohan, E-mail: rajmohanbala@gmail.com

    2016-05-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from a medicinal plant Nothapodytes foetida was used for the synthesis of quantum dots. • Morris-Weber kinetic model and Lagergren's pseudo-first-order rate equation were used to study the biosorption kinetics. • Polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots of 18 nm and 58.9 nm from TEM and DLS, respectively. - Abstract: The development of reliable and eco-friendly processes for the synthesis of metal sulphide quantum dots has been considered as a major challenge in the field of nanotechnology. In the present study, polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots were synthesized from an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus. It is noteworthy that apart from being rich sources of bioactive compounds, endophytic fungus also has the ability to mediate the synthesis of nanoparticles. TEM and DLS revealed the formation of spherical particles with an average diameter of about 18 nm and 58.9 nm, respectively. The ZnS quantum dots were further characterized using SEM, EDAX, XRD, UV–visible spectroscopy and FTIR. The obtained results confirmed the synthesis of polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots and these quantum dots are used for studying ROS activity. In addition this paper explains kinetics of metal sorption to study the role of biosorption in synthesis of quantum dots by applying Morris-Weber kinetic model. Since Aspergillus flavus is isolated from a medicinal plant Nothapodytes foetida, quantum dots synthesized from this fungus may have great potential in broad environmental and medical applications.

  3. A Case Report on Aspergillus lentulus Pneumonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muharrem Cidem

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Aspergillus lentulus was described as a new species in 2005 but it was isolated from Turkey for the first time. Case report: A. lentulus was isolated as the cause of pneumonia from a patient who had renal transplantation 4 months ago. The patient received immunosuppressive treatment after transplantation. A. lentulus was isolated from his sputum as an agent in pneumonia developed 4 months after the transplantation. Leukocytes, blastospores, and hyphae were seen in both Gram- and Giemsa-stained smears of the sputum. The isolate was identified by using the Maren A. Klich algorithm and molecular methods and confirmed by the reference laboratory of the CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre (The Netherlands. In the susceptibility tests of the isolate, minimal inhibitory concentrations for amphotericin B, voriconazole, posaconazole, and caspofungin were found to be 0.5 µg/mL, 0.25 µg/mL, 0.125 µg/mL, and 0.25 µg/mL, respectively. The patient recovered with voriconazole treatment (2x200 mg/day. Conclusion: The use of the molecular tests is important for identification of A. lentulus strains because they are very easily confused with A.fumigatus strains according to phenotypic characteristics.

  4. Aspergillus felis sp nov., an Emerging Agent of Invasive Aspergillosis in Humans, Cats, and Dogs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barrs, Vanessa R.; van Doorn, Tineke M.; Houbraken, Jos; Kidd, Sarah E.; Martin, Patricia; Pinheiro, Maria Dolores; Richardson, Malcolm; Varga, Janos; Samson, Robert A.

    2013-01-01

    We describe a novel heterothallic species in Aspergillus section Fumigati, namely A. felis (neosartorya-morph) isolated from three host species with invasive aspergillosis including a human patient with chronic invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, domestic cats with invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and a

  5. Distribution and incidence of atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus VCG in tree crop orchards in California: a strategy for identifying potential antagonists

    Science.gov (United States)

    To identify predominant isolates for potential use as biocontrol agents, Aspergillus flavus isolates collected soils of almond, pistachio and fig orchard in the Central Valley of California were tested for their membership to 16 atoxigenic vegetative compatibility groups(VCGs), including YV36, the V...

  6. Taichunamides: Prenylated Indole Alkaloids from Aspergillus taichungensis (IBT 19404)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kagiyama, Ippei; Kato, Hikaru; Nehira, Tatsuo

    2016-01-01

    Seven new prenylated indole alkaloids, taichunamides A–G, were isolated from the fungus Aspergillus taichungensis (IBT 19404). Taichunamides A and B contained an azetidine and 4‐pyridone units, respectively, and are likely biosynthesized from notoamide S via (+)‐6‐epi‐stephacidin A. Taichunamides...... these cores within the three species likely arise from an intramolecular hetero Diels–Alder reaction....

  7. The kinetics of glucose production from rice straw by Aspergillus niger

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this investigation, glucose was produced from rice straw using cells of Aspergillus niger, isolated from maize grain. Glucose yield was found to increase from 43 to 87% as the rice straw particle size decreased from 425 to 75 ìm, while the optimal temperature and pH were found within the range of 45 - 50°C and 4.5 - 5 ...

  8. Production of mycotoxins by Aspergillus lentulus and other medically important and closely related species in section Fumigati

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Thomas Ostenfeld; Smedsgaard, Jørn; Nielsen, Kristian Fog

    2007-01-01

    The production of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites have been studied by LC-DAD-MS from six species in Aspergillus section Fumigati. This includes the three new species Aspergillus lentulus, A. novofumigatus and A. fumigatiaffinis as well as A. fumigatus, Neosartoria fisheri and N. pseud...... by direct injection mass spectrometry and cluster analysis. Separate groupings were seen for all the six species even though only one isolate was included in this study for the two species A. novofumigatus and A. fumigatiaffinis.......The production of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites have been studied by LC-DAD-MS from six species in Aspergillus section Fumigati. This includes the three new species Aspergillus lentulus, A. novofumigatus and A. fumigatiaffinis as well as A. fumigatus, Neosartoria fisheri and N....... pseudofisheri. A major finding was detection of gliotoxin from N. pseudofisheri, a species not previously reported to produce this mycotoxin. Gliotoxin was also detected from A. fumigatus together with fumagillin, fumigaclavine C, fumitremorgin C, fumiquinazolines, trypacidin, methyl- sulochrin, TR-2...

  9. Mycoremediation of Textile Dyes: Application of Novel Autochthonous Fungal Isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sweety

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Four fungal isolates Trichoderma virens, Phlebiopsis cf. ravenelii, Talaromyces stipitatus, Aspergillus niger originally isolated from the textile dye contaminated soil of Meerut (U.P. India. They were used for the decolorization studies of selected textile azo dyes under laboratory conditions. Out of total 74 isolates, selected four fungal strains were picked on the basis of primary screening carried out using agar layer decolorization method. Decolorization efficiency of textile dyes was studied at an interval of 3, 5, 7 and 9 days at temperatures 20, 25, 30 and 40°C using five synthetic dyes viz. Xylene cynol FF, Brilliant blue R, Aniline Blue, Orange G II and Crystal violet. Decolorization study was carried out under shaking and stationary conditions at pH 4.0, 5.4, 6.5, and 8.0. The results obtained showed that Trichoderma virens and Aspergillus niger were more efficient then Phlebiopsis cf. ravenelii and Talaromyces stipitatus. Highest biodegradation activities of dyes by these aboriginal fungal isolates were observed at pH 5.4 after 9 days of incubation. Maximum decolorization 99.84 % was achieved by Aspergillus niger, followed by Trichoderma virens. This is the first report where the bioremediation aspects of Phlebiopsis cf. ravenelii and Talaromyces stipitatus has been revealed.

  10. Antimicrobial activity of filamentous fungi isolated from highly antibiotic-contaminated river sediment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svahn, K. Stefan; Göransson, Ulf; El-Seedi, Hesham; Bohlin, Lars; Larsson, D.G. Joakim; Olsen, Björn; Chryssanthou, Erja

    2012-01-01

    Background Filamentous fungi are well known for their production of substances with antimicrobial activities, several of which have formed the basis for the development of new clinically important antimicrobial agents. Recently, environments polluted with extraordinarily high levels of antibiotics have been documented, leading to strong selection pressure on local sentinel bacterial communities. In such microbial ecosystems, where multidrug-resistant bacteria are likely to thrive, it is possible that certain fungal antibiotics have become less efficient, thus encouraging alternative strategies for fungi to compete with bacteria. Methods In this study, sediment of a highly antibiotic-contaminated Indian river was sampled in order to investigate the presence of cultivable filamentous fungi and their ability to produce substances with antimicrobial activity. Results Sixty one strains of filamentous fungi, predominantly various Aspergillus spp. were identified. The majority of the Aspergillus strains displayed antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. Bioassay-guided isolation of the secondary metabolites of A. fumigatus led to the identification of gliotoxin. Conclusion This study demonstrated proof of principle of using bioassay-guided isolation for finding bioactive molecules. PMID:22957125

  11. Antimicrobial activity of filamentous fungi isolated from highly antibiotic-contaminated river sediment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Stefan Svahn

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Filamentous fungi are well known for their production of substances with antimicrobial activities, several of which have formed the basis for the development of new clinically important antimicrobial agents. Recently, environments polluted with extraordinarily high levels of antibiotics have been documented, leading to strong selection pressure on local sentinel bacterial communities. In such microbial ecosystems, where multidrug-resistant bacteria are likely to thrive, it is possible that certain fungal antibiotics have become less efficient, thus encouraging alternative strategies for fungi to compete with bacteria. Methods: In this study, sediment of a highly antibiotic-contaminated Indian river was sampled in order to investigate the presence of cultivable filamentous fungi and their ability to produce substances with antimicrobial activity. Results: Sixty one strains of filamentous fungi, predominantly various Aspergillus spp. were identified. The majority of the Aspergillus strains displayed antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. Bioassay-guided isolation of the secondary metabolites of A. fumigatus led to the identification of gliotoxin. Conclusion: This study demonstrated proof of principle of using bioassay-guided isolation for finding bioactive molecules.

  12. Xylanase production by a local fungal isolate, Aspergillus niger USM AI 1 via solid state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Che Omar

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Isolate USM A1 I which was identified to be Aspergillus niger was selected as a potential producer of xylanase via a solid state fermentation system (SSF using palm kernel cake (PKC as substrate. The modification of the physical conditions of the SSF system indicated that the xylanase activity was 23.97 U/g PKC at the moisture ratio of 1:0.75 of PKC: moistening agent with the inoculum size of 1¥104 spores/ml and cultivated at the ambient temperature (28±3ºC. The supplementation of additional carbon and nitrogen sources in the PKC medium could enhance enzyme productivity. The maximum production of xylanase and growth obtained with the supplementation of xylose at 0.75% (w/w were 25.40 U/g and 1.69 mg glucosamine/ g PKC. Moreover, the presence of NaNO3 at 0.075% (w/w as additional nitrogen source further enhanced xylanase production to 33.99 U/g PKC although the growth remained unchanged at about 1.67 mg glucosa- mine/g PKC. The optimized conditions showed an increased xylanase production by 157% compared to before the optimization of the SSF system. The xylanase productivity was 23.12 U/mg glucosamine after optimization and 11.72 U/mg glucosamine before optimization.

  13. Isolation of gallic acid-producing microorganisms and their use in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A total number of eighty gallic acid producing strains were isolated from forest soil or plant samples. Among these strains, thirteen isolates were selected for gallic acid production and these isolates were Aspergillus niger 1, A. niger 2, A. niger 3, Penicillium canescens (3), P. frequentans (2), P. spinulosum (2), ...

  14. [Primary Aspergillus endocarditis. Apropos of a case and review of the international literature].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roux, J P; Koussa, A; Cajot, M A; Marquette, F; Goullard, L; Gosselin, B; Pol, A; Warembourg, H; Soots, G

    1992-01-01

    The authors report a case of primary aspergillus endocarditis with endophthalmitis and vertebral osteomyelitis. No underlying disease and no predisposing factors were found. Valve replacement plus combined antifungal chemotherapy proved to be effective as the patient is asymptomatic 18 months after the first symptoms. 48 cases of aspergillus endocarditis, without prior cardiac surgery have been reported in the literature. Aspergillus endocarditis was valvular or mural. Extracardiac dissemination was common but endophthalmitis and osteomyelitis were infrequent. In 11 cases, the diagnosis was made by histologic examination of embolectomy or ocular, skin biopsy tissue. All patients were febrile. Blood cultures showed no Aspergillus species. Clinical manifestations of endocarditis were described in less than fifty per cent of cases. Echocardiographic visualization of vegetations was obtained in 5 cases. Many patients experienced embolic phenomena. Mortality from Aspergillus endocarditis is extremely high (96%). Surgery is the main treatment, consisting of valve replacement. Antifungal chemotherapy should be combined. The proper duration and dosage and the combination of antifungal drugs have not been clearly defined.

  15. Iatrogenic aspergillus infection of the central nervous system in a pregnant woman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lokuhetty Menaka

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available A healthy postnatal woman succumbed to fulminant iatrogenic Aspergillus infection of the central nervous system, following accidental inoculation into the subarachnoid space at spinal anesthesia, during an outbreak of Aspergillus meningitis in Sri Lanka. Autopsy revealed extensive Aspergillus meningitis and culture confirmed Aspergillus fumigatus. The thalamic parenchyma in the brain was invaded by fungal hyphae producing necrotizing angitis with thrombosis, thalamic infarcts and fungal abscesses. The directional growth of fungal hyphae from the extra-luminal side of blood vessels towards the lumen favored extension from the brain parenchyma over hematogenous spread. The spinal parenchyma was resistant to fungal invasion in spite of the heavy growth within the spinal meninges and initial inoculation at spinal level. Modulation of the immune response in pregnancy with depression of selective aspects of cell-mediated immunity probably contributed to rapid spread within the subarachnoid space, to involve the brain parenchyma leading to clinical deterioration and death.

  16. Relationship between Fungal Colonisation of the Respiratory Tract in Lung Transplant Recipients and Fungal Contamination of the Hospital Environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Bonnal

    Full Text Available Aspergillus colonisation is frequently reported after lung transplantation. The question of whether aspergillus colonisation is related to the hospital environment is crucial to prevention.To elucidate this question, a prospective study of aspergillus colonisation after lung transplantation, along with a mycological survey of the patient environment, was performed.Forty-four consecutive patients were included from the day of lung transplantation and then examined weekly for aspergillus colonisation until hospital discharge. Environmental fungal contamination of each patient was followed weekly via air and surface sampling. Twelve patients (27% had transient aspergillus colonisation, occurring 1-13 weeks after lung transplantation, without associated manifestation of aspergillosis. Responsible Aspergillus species were A. fumigatus (6, A. niger (3, A. sydowii (1, A. calidoustus (1 and Aspergillus sp. (1. In the environment, contamination by Penicillium and Aspergillus was predominant. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between occurrence of aspergillus colonisation and fungal contamination of the patient's room, either by Aspergillus spp. in the air or by A.fumigatus on the floor. Related clinical and environmental isolates were genotyped in 9 cases of aspergillus colonisation. For A. fumigatus (4 cases, two identical microsatellite profiles were found between clinical and environmental isolates collected on distant dates or locations. For other Aspergillus species, isolates were different in 2 cases; in 3 cases of aspergillus colonisation by A. sydowii, A. niger and A. calidoustus, similarity between clinical and environmental internal transcribed spacer and tubulin sequences was >99%.Taken together, these results support the hypothesis of environmental risk of hospital acquisition of aspergillus colonisation in lung transplant recipients.

  17. SECONDARY METABOLITE FROM ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI Aspergillus niger OF THE STEM BARK OF KANDIS GAJAH (Garcinia griffithii

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    Elfita Elfita

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Garcinia griffithii are known as kandis gajah including the Garcinia genus. This plant has been traditionally used by local communities Sarasah Bonta, Lembah Arau, West Sumatra, to treat various diseases including gout. Aspergillus niger was isolated from the tissues of the stem bark of Garcinia griffithii. The fungi strain was identified base on colony and cell morphology characteristic. Aspergillus niger cultured in media 5L Potatos Dextose Broth (PDB for 8 weeks and filtered. Media that already contains secondary metabolites are partitioned using ethyl acetate solvent in 5 L (twice, followed by evaporation. Furthermore, the extract is separated by chromatographic techniques to obtain a pure compound of white crystal. The molecular structures of isolated compounds are determined by spectroscopic methods including IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HMQC, HMBC, and COSY. The compound was determined as phenolic (1.

  18. Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Human Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus intermedius Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarbrough, Melanie L; Lainhart, William; Burnham, C A

    2018-03-01

    The veterinary pathogens in the Staphylococcus intermedius group (SIG) are increasingly recognized as causes of human infection. Shared features between SIG and Staphylococcus aureus may result in the misidentification of SIG in human clinical cultures. This study examined the clinical and microbiological characteristics of isolates recovered at a tertiary-care academic medical center. From 2013 to 2015, 81 SIG isolates were recovered from 62 patients. Patients were commonly ≥50 years old, diabetic, and/or immunocompromised. Documentation of dog exposure in the electronic medical record was not common. Of the 81 SIG isolates, common sites of isolation included 37 (46%) isolates from wound cultures and 17 (21%) isolates from respiratory specimens. Although less common, 10 (12%) bloodstream infections were documented in 7 unique patients. The majority of SIG (65%) isolates were obtained from polymicrobial cultures. In comparison to S. aureus isolates from the same time period, significant differences were noted in proportion of SIG isolates that were susceptible to doxycycline (74% versus 97%, respectively; P SIG isolates. All MR isolates detected by an oxacillin disk diffusion test would have been misclassified as methicillin susceptible using a cefoxitin disk diffusion test. Thus, SIG is recovered from human clinical specimens, and distinction of SIG from S. aureus is critical for the accurate characterization of MR status in these isolates. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  19. THE HALOPHILICITY OF FILAMENTOUS FUNGI ISOLATED FROM SALINE SOILS OF SOUTH CAUCASUS

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    Kvesitadze E.

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The work is devoted to the isolation, purification, determination of taxonomical characteristics and application in soil improvement and other biotechnological processes halophilic microscopic fungi strains isolated from saline soils of Eastern Georgia (middle part of South Caucasus, where their existence is maximally supposed. In all soilclimatic zones the dominate forms of spread fungi are genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium, followed by Trichoderma and Mucor. Other genera are met less intensively. The genera Aspergillus is widely spread in chestnut soils and in chernozem, in green forest soils the genera Penicillium is prevailing. The salinity of soil, lake or any other objects from which the isolation of microscopic fungi is performed greatly determines halophilisity of isolated strains. Finally, the collection of halophilic microscopic fungi has been created accounting 96 isolates of extreme halophiles, halophiles and week halophiles.

  20. A molecular analysis of L-arabinan degradation in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Flipphi, M.J.A.

    1995-01-01

    This thesis describes a molecular study of the genetics ofL-arabinan degradation in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans. These saprophytic hyphal fungi produce an extracellular hydrolytic enzyme system to

  1. Allergens/Antigens, Toxins and Polyketides of Important Aspergillus Species

    OpenAIRE

    Bhetariya, Preetida J.; Madan, Taruna; Basir, Seemi Farhat; Varma, Anupam; Usha, Sarma P.

    2011-01-01

    The medical, agricultural and biotechnological importance of the primitive eukaryotic microorganisms, the Fungi was recognized way back in 1920. Among various groups of fungi, the Aspergillus species are studied in great detail using advances in genomics and proteomics to unravel biological and molecular mechanisms in these fungi. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus terreus are some of the important specie...

  2. Fungi isolated in school buildings

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    Elżbieta Ejdys

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the species composition of fungi occurring on wall surfaces and in the air in school buildings. Fungi isolated from the air using the sedimentation method and from the walls using the surface swab technique constituted the study material. Types of finish materials on wall surfaces were identified and used in the analysis. Samples were collected in selected areas in two schools: classrooms, corridors, men's toilets and women's toilets, cloakrooms, sports changing rooms and shower. Examinations were conducted in May 2005 after the heating season was over. Fungi were incubated on Czapek-Dox medium at three parallel temperatures: 25, 37 and 40°C, for at least three weeks. A total of 379 isolates of fungi belonging to 32 genera of moulds, yeasts and yeast-like fungi were obtained from 321 samples in the school environment. The following genera were isolated most frequently: Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladosporium. Of the 72 determined species, Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium chrysogenum occurred most frequently in the school buildings. Wall surfaces were characterised by an increased prevalence of mycobiota in comparison with the air in the buildings, with a slightly greater species diversity. A certain species specificity for rough and smooth wall surfaces was demonstrated. Fungi of the genera Cladosporium and Emericella with large spores adhered better to smooth surfaces while those of the genus Aspergillus with smaller conidia adhered better to rough surfaces. The application of three incubation temperatures helped provide a fuller picture of the mycobiota in the school environment.

  3. Diversity of Aspergillus section Nigri on the surface of Vitis labrusca and its hybrid grapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferranti, Larissa de Souza; Fungaro, Maria Helena P; Massi, Fernanda Pelisson; Silva, Josué José da; Penha, Rafael Elias Silva; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Iamanaka, Beatriz Thie

    2018-03-02

    This study investigated the presence of Aspergillus species belonging to Aspergillus section Nigri on Vitis labrusca and its hybrid grapes grown in Brazil. The ability of the fungi isolates to produce ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B 2 (FB 2 ) as well as the presence of these mycotoxins in the grapes were also studied. Eighty-eight samples were collected from the main grape producing states in Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul (n=30), Pernambuco (n=21), São Paulo (n=21) and Paraná (n=16). The highest average contamination level by A. section Nigri occurred on the grapes from Pernambuco (66.3%). A total of 2042 A. section Nigri isolates was analyzed and clustered in three groups according to morphology characterization: A. section Nigri uniseriate (79.3%), A. niger "aggregate" (18.3%) and A. carbonarius (2.4%). In order to precisely identify the Aspergillus species, two hundred and forty-eight strains were subjected to DNA sequencing. Among the A. section Nigri uniseriate group, the following species were found: A. japonicus, A. uvarum, A. brunneoviolaceus, A. aculeatus and A. labruscus. Within the A. niger "aggregate", the following species were found: A.niger sensu stricto, A. welwitschiae and A. vadensis. Regarding mycotoxin-production capacity, 3.2% of the total A. section Nigri isolates (2042) were positive for OTA production and from A. niger "aggregate" (373) tested, 42.1% were FB 2 producers. However, none of the 88 grape samples were contaminated with these mycotoxins. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Monoclonal Antibodies to Hyphal Exoantigens Derived from the Opportunistic Pathogen Aspergillus terreus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus terreus has been difficult to identify in cases of aspergillosis, and clinical identification has been restricted to the broad identification of aspergillosis lesions in affected organs or the detection of fungal carbohydrates. As a result, there is a clinical need to...

  5. Gene expression profiles of Aspergillus flavus isolates responding to oxidative stress in different culture media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflatoxin contamination of peanut by Aspergillus flavus is exacerbated by drought stress. Drought also stimulates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant tissues implying a correlation between ROS and aflatoxin production. Here, we performed gene expression analysis by RNAseq of tox...

  6. Cariogenic properties of Streptococcus mutans clinical isolates with sortase defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapirattanakul, Jinthana; Takashima, Yukiko; Tantivitayakul, Pornpen; Maudcheingka, Thaniya; Leelataweewud, Pattarawadee; Nakano, Kazuhiko; Matsumoto-Nakano, Michiyo

    2017-09-01

    In Streptococcus mutans, a Gram-positive pathogen of dental caries, several surface proteins are anchored by the activity of sortase enzyme. Although various reports have shown that constructed S. mutans mutants deficient of sortase as well as laboratory reference strains with a sortase gene mutation have low cariogenic potential, no known studies have investigated clinical isolates with sortase defects. Here, we examined the cariogenic properties of S. mutans clinical isolates with sortase defects as well as caries status in humans harboring such defective isolates. Sortase-defective clinical isolates were evaluated for biofilm formation, sucrose-dependent adhesion, stress-induced dextran-dependent aggregation, acid production, and acid tolerance. Additionally, caries indices of subjects possessing such defective isolates were determined. Our in vitro results indicated that biofilm with a lower quantity was formed by sortase-defective as compared to non-defective isolates. Moreover, impairments of sucrose-dependent adhesion and stress-induced dextran-dependent aggregation were found among the isolates with defects, whereas no alterations were seen in regard to acid production or tolerance. Furthermore, glucan-binding protein C, a surface protein anchored by sortase activity, was predominantly detected in culture supernatants of all sortase-defective S. mutans isolates. Although the sortase-defective isolates showed lower cariogenic potential because of a reduction in some cariogenic properties, deft/DMFT indices revealed that all subjects harboring those isolates had caries experience. Our findings suggest the impairment of cariogenic properties in S. mutans clinical isolates with sortase defects, though the detection of these defective isolates seemed not to imply low caries risk in the subjects harboring them. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Xerophilic mycopopulations isolated from rapeseeds (Brassica napus

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    Škrinjar Marija M.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of an investigation related to mycological populations of rapeseed samples produced in the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad (location: Rimski Šančevi, Novi Sad, with a special emphasis on the potentially toxigenic mycopopulations. Mycological investigations were performed on the samples that were treated with 4% solution of Na-hypochlorite, and on the ones that were not submitted to this treatment. Isolation and determination of total mould count was carried out using Dichloran Glycerol Agar (DG18. The identification of isolated moulds was done according to modern keys for fungal determination. From 20 untreated tested samples, 17 were contaminated with moulds (10.0 to 4.7x102 cfu/g. When the samples were treated with 4% solution of Na-hypochlorite, moulds were isolated only form 4 samples, and the total mould count ranged from 10.0 to 60.0 cfu/g. In the isolated mycopopulations, xerophilic moulds dominated, especially those from the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium and Penicillium. In the isolated mycopopulations, high degree of isolated species belonged to toxigenic species from the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Eurotium and Penicillium. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III46009 i br.TR31025

  8. Fusarium and Aspergillus mycotoxins contaminating wheat silage for dairy cattle feeding in Uruguay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Palacio, Agustina; Bettucci, Lina; Pan, Dinorah

    Wheat is one of the most important cultivated cereals in Uruguay for human consumption; however, when harvest yields are low, wheat is usually used in ensiling for animal feeding. Ensiling is a forage preservation method that allows for storage during extended periods of time while maintaining nutritional values comparable to fresh pastures. Silage is vulnerable to contamination by spoilage molds and mycotoxins because ensilage materials are excellent substrates for fungal growth. The aim of the study was to identify the mycobiota composition and occurrence of aflatoxins and DON from wheat silage. A total of 220 samples of wheat were collected from four farms in the southwest region of Uruguay were silage practices are developed. The main fungi isolated were Fusarium (43%) and Aspergillus (36%), with Fusarium graminearum sensu lato and Aspergillus section Flavi being the most prevalent species. Aflatoxin concentrations in silo bags ranged from 6.1 to 23.3μg/kg, whereas DON levels ranged between 3000μg/kg and 12,400μg/kg. When evaluating aflatoxigenic capacity, 27.5% of Aspergillus section Flavi strains produced AFB1, 5% AFB2, 10% AFG1 and 17.5% AFG2. All isolates of F. graminearum sensu lato produced DON and 15-AcDON. The results from this study contribute to the knowledge of mycobiota and mycotoxins present in wheat silage. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  9. Triazole Resistance in Aspergillus spp.: A Worldwide Problem?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivero-Menendez, Olga; Alastruey-Izquierdo, Ana; Mellado, Emilia; Cuenca-Estrella, Manuel

    2016-01-01

    Since the first description of an azole-resistant A. fumigatus strain in 1997, there has been an increasing number of papers describing the emergence of azole resistance. Firstly reported in the USA and soon after in Europe, it has now been described worldwide, challenging the management of human aspergillosis. The main mechanism of resistance is the modification of the azole target enzyme: 14-α sterol demethylase, encoded by the cyp51A gene; although recently, other resistance mechanisms have also been implicated. In addition, a shift in the epidemiology has been noted with other Aspergillus species (mostly azole resistant) increasingly being reported as causative agents of human disease. This paper reviews the current situation of Aspergillus azole resistance and its implications in the clinical setting. PMID:29376938

  10. Radiation sensitivity of fungal microflora isolated from some pharmaceutical ingredients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mostafa, S.A. (Ain Shams Univ., Cairo (Egypt). Botany Dept.); El-Zawahry, Y.A.; Abdel All, S.S.

    1983-01-01

    The total number of fungal microflora of D-glucose, NaCl, KCl and their solutions was determined. The fungal isolates were identified as Aspergillus fumigatus. Aspergillus niger; Spicaria divaricate and Spicaria silvatica and their response to ..gamma..-radiation was determined, the most predominant isolate Asp. fumigatus was also the most irradiation resistant. The Dio and the lethal dose were determined for each isolate in a pure spore suspension as well as in the presence of the other isolates. The higher lethal dose values obtained for pure spore suspension as compared to that obtained for the natural fungal flora a D-glucose are discussed in terms of spore clumping. The activity of amylase, protease and L-asparaginase of Asp. fumigatus was examined prior to and after exposure to different doses of ..gamma..-radiation. Though all were inhibited at high doses, the effect was not as drastic as it was on cell viability.

  11. [The isolation and evaluation of Aspergillus fumigatus antigens].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lirio, V de S; de Assis, C M; Cano, M I; Lacaz, C da S

    1992-01-01

    Antigens from three strains of Aspergillus fumigatus (354, 356, and JIG) and an antiserum against the mixing of these antigens have been produced, and evaluated immunochemically. The antigens were obtained through a modified Coleman & Kaufman technique (culture filtrate concentrated by acetone). Analysis by the immunodiffusion test (ID) against homologous serum has yielded 100% sensitivity (with the studied sera). Concerning heterologous sera we found reactivity with a serum of a patient of candidiasis and another with histoplasmosis. The same result was obtained with a reference antigen in immunodiffusion, showing similar standards of response. Titration of the antiserum by ID and counterimmunoelectrophoresis showed a title of 1:32, and by complement fixation (micro-technique) a title of 1:128. Using immunoelectrophoresis (IEF), the produced antiserum yielded 8 lines of precipitation (5 in the anodic pole and 3 in the cathodic one). In SDS-PAGE at 12.5% the antigen has presented a rather complex electrophoretic profile (26 proteic subunits with a molecular weight ranging from 18 a > 100 kDa). Immunogenicity of the antigen was observed in all fractions of SDS-PAGE when the immunoblotting against the antiserum was carried out.

  12. Aspergillus in endodontic infection near the maxillary sinus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Cinthya Cristina; Pinto, Larissa Christina Costa; Victor, Fernanda Loretti; Silva, Erlange Andrade Borges da; Ribeiro, Apoena de Aguiar; Sarquis, Maria Inês de Moura; Camões, Isabel Coelho Gomes

    2015-01-01

    Diseases of the maxillary sinus have been associated with dental roots near the maxillary sinus that have undergone endodontic treatment. To investigate the presence of filamentous fungi in patients with dental roots near the maxillary sinus who had apical periodontitis treated endodontically, and to alert practitioners that this could be a possible avenue of contamination of the sinus in patients who develop maxillary sinus infection. Cross-sectional study in 60 palatal roots of the first maxillary molars near the maxillary sinus, that underwent endodontic treatment for apical periodontitis. After removal of the filling material, dentin shavings were collected and placed in test tubes containing Sabouraud dextrose agar and chloramphenicol. The phenotype was determined by macroscopic and microscopic examination of the colonies. For polymerase chain reaction, the primers ITS-5 and ITS-4 were used. The sequences obtained were compared with those deposited at GenBank using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool program. Filamentous fungi were isolated from 6 of 60 canals (10%): Aspergillus niger (6.7%), Aspergillus versicolor (1.6%), and Aspergillus fumigatus (1.6%). Root canals near the maxillary sinus with endodontic treatment and apical periodontitis may exhibit positive cultures for filamentous fungi. Interested professionals should be alert, because these microorganisms have pathogenic characteristics that can cause disease of odontogenic origin in the maxillary sinus. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  13. Proteogenomic Investigation of Strain Variation in Clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates

    KAUST Repository

    Heunis, Tiaan

    2017-08-18

    Mycobacterium tuberculosis consists of a large number of different strains that display unique virulence characteristics. Whole-genome sequencing has revealed substantial genetic diversity among clinical M. tuberculosis isolates, and elucidating the phenotypic variation encoded by this genetic diversity will be of utmost importance to fully understand M. tuberculosis biology and pathogenicity. In this study we integrated whole-genome sequencing and mass spectrometry (GeLC-MS/MS) to reveal strain-specific characteristics in the proteomes of two clinical M. tuberculosis Latin American-Mediterranean isolates. Using this approach we identified 59 peptides containing single amino acid variants, which covered ~9% of all total coding nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants detected by whole-genome sequencing. Furthermore, we identified 29 distinct peptides that mapped to a hypothetical protein not present in the M. tuberculosis H37Rv reference proteome. Here we provide evidence for the expression of this protein in the clinical M. tuberculosis SAWC3651 isolate. The strain-specific databases enabled confirmation of genomic differences (i.e. large genomic regions of difference and nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants) in these two clinical M. tuberculosis isolates and allowed strain differentiation at the proteome level. Our results contribute to the growing field of clinical microbial proteogenomics and can improve our understanding of phenotypic variation in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates.

  14. Proteogenomic Investigation of Strain Variation in Clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates

    KAUST Repository

    Heunis, Tiaan; Dippenaar, Anzaan; Warren, Robin M.; van Helden, Paul D.; van der Merwe, Ruben G.; Gey van Pittius, Nicolaas C.; Pain, Arnab; Sampson, Samantha L.; Tabb, David L.

    2017-01-01

    Mycobacterium tuberculosis consists of a large number of different strains that display unique virulence characteristics. Whole-genome sequencing has revealed substantial genetic diversity among clinical M. tuberculosis isolates, and elucidating the phenotypic variation encoded by this genetic diversity will be of utmost importance to fully understand M. tuberculosis biology and pathogenicity. In this study we integrated whole-genome sequencing and mass spectrometry (GeLC-MS/MS) to reveal strain-specific characteristics in the proteomes of two clinical M. tuberculosis Latin American-Mediterranean isolates. Using this approach we identified 59 peptides containing single amino acid variants, which covered ~9% of all total coding nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants detected by whole-genome sequencing. Furthermore, we identified 29 distinct peptides that mapped to a hypothetical protein not present in the M. tuberculosis H37Rv reference proteome. Here we provide evidence for the expression of this protein in the clinical M. tuberculosis SAWC3651 isolate. The strain-specific databases enabled confirmation of genomic differences (i.e. large genomic regions of difference and nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants) in these two clinical M. tuberculosis isolates and allowed strain differentiation at the proteome level. Our results contribute to the growing field of clinical microbial proteogenomics and can improve our understanding of phenotypic variation in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates.

  15. Proteogenomic Investigation of Strain Variation in Clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heunis, Tiaan; Dippenaar, Anzaan; Warren, Robin M; van Helden, Paul D; van der Merwe, Ruben G; Gey van Pittius, Nicolaas C; Pain, Arnab; Sampson, Samantha L; Tabb, David L

    2017-10-06

    Mycobacterium tuberculosis consists of a large number of different strains that display unique virulence characteristics. Whole-genome sequencing has revealed substantial genetic diversity among clinical M. tuberculosis isolates, and elucidating the phenotypic variation encoded by this genetic diversity will be of the utmost importance to fully understand M. tuberculosis biology and pathogenicity. In this study, we integrated whole-genome sequencing and mass spectrometry (GeLC-MS/MS) to reveal strain-specific characteristics in the proteomes of two clinical M. tuberculosis Latin American-Mediterranean isolates. Using this approach, we identified 59 peptides containing single amino acid variants, which covered ∼9% of all coding nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants detected by whole-genome sequencing. Furthermore, we identified 29 distinct peptides that mapped to a hypothetical protein not present in the M. tuberculosis H37Rv reference proteome. Here, we provide evidence for the expression of this protein in the clinical M. tuberculosis SAWC3651 isolate. The strain-specific databases enabled confirmation of genomic differences (i.e., large genomic regions of difference and nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants) in these two clinical M. tuberculosis isolates and allowed strain differentiation at the proteome level. Our results contribute to the growing field of clinical microbial proteogenomics and can improve our understanding of phenotypic variation in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates.

  16. Isolation of phosphate solubilizer fungi from Araza rhizosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Fernanda Vera

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Araza is an eatable plant, original from the Amazon region which has been describedas a promising species for commercialization (Quevedo 1995. This plant has highproductivity even in low content phosphate soil but the presence of phosphatesolubilizazing microorganisms may contribute to increase this element availability.In this study we report the isolation and characterization of solubilizing fungiprocessed using the soil washing method, from soil samples were Araza is cultivated attwo regions in Guaviare, Colombia. Eighteen isolates of fungi capable of solubilizingphosphate were obtained from 2 different sources. The most importat species that solubilized phosphate from calcium were Trichodermaaureoviride, Aspergillus aculeatus,Trichodermastrain 1 y Trichodermastrain 2 and for phosphate from iron: Aspergillus oryzae,Paecilomycesstrain 3, Gongronella butleri& Fusarium oxysporum

  17. Isolation and identification of fungal flora associated with groundnut ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A total of 25 colonies were isolated from all the samples from which 6 fungal species were identified, namely Mucor, Aspergillus, Rhizophus, Curvularia, Pencillium and Fusarium spp. Of these, Mucor and Rhizopus were most prevalent having been isolated from the three storage facilities studied. Curvularia and Penicillium ...

  18. Identifikasi Jamur Genus Aspergillus pada Gaplek di Kabupaten Gunung Kidul

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. A. Oramahi

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available The study was carried out in Gunung Kidul Regency of Yogyakarta special. Dried cassava was taken from the district of Nglipar (north zone, Wonosari (center zone, Semanu and Rongkop (south zones for identification of the genera of Aspergillus growing on the samples. Clasification of the zones was based on the degree of rainfall on the area. Dichloran 18% Glyserol Agar (DG-18 medium was used for isolating pathogen, while Czapek Yeast Extract Agar (CYA, Czapek Yeast Extract Agar with 20% sucrose (CYA 20S and Malt Extract Agar (MEA media were used for identification. The fungi were identified on the basis of both macroscopic and microscopic morphologies. The result showed that The Genera Of Aspergillus growing on dry cassava were A. flavus, A. niger, A. oryzae, A. foetidus, A. zonatus and A. tamarii. A. flavus was a predominant fungus that grow on dry cassava.

  19. Sequence analysis and overexpression of a pectin lyase gene (pel1) from Aspergillus oryzae KBN616.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitamoto, N; Yoshino-Yasuda, S; Ohmiya, K; Tsukagoshi, N

    2001-01-01

    A gene (pel1) encoding pectin lyase (Pel1) was isolated from a shoyu koji mold, Aspergillus oryzae KBN616, and characterized. The structural gene comprised 1,196 bp with a single intron. The ORF encoded 381 amino acids with a signal peptide of 20 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity to those of Aspergillus niger pectin lyases and Glomerella cingulata PnlA. The pel1 gene was successfully overexpressed under the promoter of the A. oryzae TEF1 gene. The molecular mass of the recombinant pectin lyase substantially coincided with that calculated based on nucleotide sequence.

  20. Characterization of the fumonisin B2 biosynthetic gene cluster in Aspergillus niger and A. awamori.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus niger and A. awamori strains isolated from grapes cultivated in Mediterranean basin were examined for fumonisin B2 (FB2) production and presence/absence of sequences within the fumonisin biosynthetic gene (fum) cluster. Presence of 13 regions in the fum cluster was evaluated by PCR assay...

  1. Aspergillus specific IgE estimation by radioallergosorbent technique (RAST) in obstructive airways disease at Agra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, S.K.; Singh, R.; Mehrotra, M.P.; Patney, N.L.; Sachan, A.S.; Shiromany, A.

    1986-01-01

    The radioallergosorbent technique (RAST) was used to measure the levels of Aspergillus specific IgE in 25 normal controls, 25 cases of extrinsic bronchial asthma and 25 cases of allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis with a view to study the clinical role and its correlation with sputum culture, skin sensitivity and severity of airways obstruction. The test was performed using Pharmacia diagnostic kits with antigen derived from Aspergillus fumigatus. Abnormal levels of Aspergillus specific IgE were observed in 84 per cent cases of bronchial asthma but none of the controls. 86.7 per cent of all cases with positive skin test had positive radioallergosorbent test and there was no false positive reaction. There was a positive correlation of Aspergillus specific IgE with skin test positivity and with FEV 1 /FVC per cent. (author)

  2. Characterization of a Newly Isolated Marine Fungus Aspergillus dimorphicus for Optimized Production of the Anti-Tumor Agent Wentilactones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Xu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The potential anti-tumor agent wentilactones were produced by a newly isolated marine fungus Aspergillus dimorphicus. This fungus was derived from deep-sea sediment and identified by polyphasic approach, combining phenotypic, molecular, and extrolite profiles. However, wentilactone production was detected only under static cultures with very low yields. In order to improve wentilactone production, culture conditions were optimized using the response surface methodology. Under the optimal static fermentation conditions, the experimental values were closely consistent with the prediction model. The yields of wentilactone A and B were increased about 11-fold to 13.4 and 6.5 mg/L, respectively. The result was further verified by fermentation scale-up for wentilactone production. Moreover, some small-molecule elicitors were found to have capacity of stimulating wentilactone production. To our knowledge, this is first report of optimized production of tetranorlabdane diterpenoids by a deep-sea derived marine fungus. The present study might be valuable for efficient production of wentilactones and fundamental investigation of the anti-tumor mechanism of norditerpenoids.

  3. Polyphasic taxonomy of Aspergillus fumigatus and related species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hong, S.B.; Go, S.J.; Shin, H.D.

    2005-01-01

    . A. lentulus produces the extrolites auranthine, cyclopiazonic acid, a dimeric indole of unknown structure, neosartorin, some pyripyropens, terrein and some tryptoquivalins and tryptoquivalons. Two pair of isolates (CBS 117194, 117186 and 117520, 117519) Clustered into separate groups from A....... fumigatus and the other Aspergillus section Fumigati species, including the teleomorph Neosartorya, are proposed as two new species. A. fumigatiaffinis spec. nov. produces the extrolites auranthine, cycloechinulin, helvolic acid, neosartorin, palitantin, pyripyropens, tryptoquivalins and tryptoquivalons......, and A. novofumigatus spec. nov. produces the extrolites cycloechinuline, helvolic acid, neosartorin, palitantin and terrein....

  4. A genomics based discovery of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borui Pi

    Full Text Available Secondary metabolites (SMs produced by Aspergillus have been extensively studied for their crucial roles in human health, medicine and industrial production. However, the resulting information is almost exclusively derived from a few model organisms, including A. nidulans and A. fumigatus, but little is known about rare pathogens. In this study, we performed a genomics based discovery of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus, a rare human pathogen. A total of 52 gene clusters were identified in the draft genome of A. ustus 3.3904, such as the sterigmatocystin biosynthesis pathway that was commonly found in Aspergillus species. In addition, several SM biosynthetic gene clusters were firstly identified in Aspergillus that were possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer, including the vrt cluster that is responsible for viridicatumtoxin production. Comparative genomics revealed that A. ustus shared the largest number of SM biosynthetic gene clusters with A. nidulans, but much fewer with other Aspergilli like A. niger and A. oryzae. These findings would help to understand the diversity and evolution of SM biosynthesis pathways in genus Aspergillus, and we hope they will also promote the development of fungal identification methodology in clinic.

  5. A Genomics Based Discovery of Secondary Metabolite Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Aspergillus ustus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pi, Borui; Yu, Dongliang; Dai, Fangwei; Song, Xiaoming; Zhu, Congyi; Li, Hongye; Yu, Yunsong

    2015-01-01

    Secondary metabolites (SMs) produced by Aspergillus have been extensively studied for their crucial roles in human health, medicine and industrial production. However, the resulting information is almost exclusively derived from a few model organisms, including A. nidulans and A. fumigatus, but little is known about rare pathogens. In this study, we performed a genomics based discovery of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus, a rare human pathogen. A total of 52 gene clusters were identified in the draft genome of A. ustus 3.3904, such as the sterigmatocystin biosynthesis pathway that was commonly found in Aspergillus species. In addition, several SM biosynthetic gene clusters were firstly identified in Aspergillus that were possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer, including the vrt cluster that is responsible for viridicatumtoxin production. Comparative genomics revealed that A. ustus shared the largest number of SM biosynthetic gene clusters with A. nidulans, but much fewer with other Aspergilli like A. niger and A. oryzae. These findings would help to understand the diversity and evolution of SM biosynthesis pathways in genus Aspergillus, and we hope they will also promote the development of fungal identification methodology in clinic. PMID:25706180

  6. Identification and toxigenic potential of the industrially important fungi, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Thomas R

    2007-01-01

    Mold strains belonging to the species Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae are highly valued as koji molds in the traditional preparation of fermented foods, such as miso, sake, and shoyu, and as protein production hosts in modern industrial processes. A. oryzae and A. sojae are relatives...... of the wild molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. All four species are classified to the A. flavus group. Strains of the A. flavus group are characterized by a high degree of morphological similarity. Koji mold species are generally perceived of as being nontoxigenic, whereas wild molds...... are associated with the carcinogenic aflatoxins. Thus, reliable identification of individual strains is very important for application purposes. This review considers the pheno- and genotypic markers used in the classification of A. flavus group strains and specifically in the identification of A. oryzae and A...

  7. Molecular profiling and bioactive potential of an endophytic fungus Aspergillus sulphureus isolated from Sida acuta: a medicinal plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murali, M; Mahendra, C; Hema, P; Rajashekar, N; Nataraju, A; Sudarshana, M S; Amruthesh, K N

    2017-12-01

    Sida acuta Burm.f. (Malvaceae) extracts are reported to have applications against malaria, diuretic, antipyretic, nervous and urinary diseases. No fungal endophytes of S. acuta are reported. Isolation, identification and evaluation of antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and haemolytic potential of fungal endophytes from the ethnomedcinal plant S. acuta. Sida acuta stem segments were placed on PDA medium to isolate endophytic fungi. The fungus was identified by genomic DNA analysis and phylogenetic tree was constructed using ITS sequences (GenBank) to confirm species. The antibacterial efficacy of Aspergillus sulphureus MME12 ethyl acetate extract was tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. DPPH free radical scavenging activity, anticancer and DNA fragmentation against EAC cells, and direct haemolytic activity (100-500 μg/mL) using human erythrocytes were determined. The ethyl acetate extract of A. sulphureus (Fresen.) Wehmer (Trichocomaceae) demonstrated significant antibacterial potential against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi compared to streptomycin. MIC against test pathogens was in the range of 15.6-62.5 μg/mL. The antioxidant results revealed significant RSA from 12.43% to 62.02% (IC 50  = 350.4 μg/mL, p ≤ 0.05). MME12 offered considerable inhibition of EAC proliferation (23% to 84%, IC 50  = 216.7 μg/mL, p ≤ 0.05) supported by DNA fragmentation studies. The extract also offered insignificant haemolysis (5.6%) compared to Triton X-100. A single endophytic fungus, A. sulphureus MME12 was isolated and identified using molecular profiling. The above-mentioned findings support the pharmacological application of A. sulphureus MME12 extract and demand for purification of the active principle(s).

  8. Ribosomal subunit protein typing using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the identification and discrimination of Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Sayaka; Sato, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Reiko; Kusuya, Yoko; Takahashi, Hiroki; Yaguchi, Takashi

    2017-04-26

    Accurate identification of Aspergillus species is a very important subject. Mass spectral fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is generally employed for the rapid identification of fungal isolates. However, the results are based on simple mass spectral pattern-matching, with no peak assignment and no taxonomic input. We propose here a ribosomal subunit protein (RSP) typing technique using MALDI-TOF MS for the identification and discrimination of Aspergillus species. The results are concluded to be phylogenetic in that they reflect the molecular evolution of housekeeping RSPs. The amino acid sequences of RSPs of genome-sequenced strains of Aspergillus species were first verified and compared to compile a reliable biomarker list for the identification of Aspergillus species. In this process, we revealed that many amino acid sequences of RSPs (about 10-60%, depending on strain) registered in the public protein databases needed to be corrected or newly added. The verified RSPs were allocated to RSP types based on their mass. Peak assignments of RSPs of each sample strain as observed by MALDI-TOF MS were then performed to set RSP type profiles, which were then further processed by means of cluster analysis. The resulting dendrogram based on RSP types showed a relatively good concordance with the tree based on β-tubulin gene sequences. RSP typing was able to further discriminate the strains belonging to Aspergillus section Fumigati. The RSP typing method could be applied to identify Aspergillus species, even for species within section Fumigati. The discrimination power of RSP typing appears to be comparable to conventional β-tubulin gene analysis. This method would therefore be suitable for species identification and discrimination at the strain to species level. Because RSP typing can characterize the strains within section Fumigati, this method has potential as a powerful and reliable tool in

  9. Aspergillus Pericarditis with Tamponade in a Renal Transplant Patient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvia Biso

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus pericarditis is a rare and life-threatening infection in immunosuppressed patients. It has nonspecific clinical manifestations that often mimic other disease entities especially in patients who have extensive comorbidities. Diagnosis is oftentimes delayed and rarely done antemortem. A high degree of suspicion in immunocompromised patients is necessary for evaluation and timely diagnosis. This is a case of Aspergillus pericarditis with cardiac tamponade in a renal transplant patient with liver cirrhosis. Two months after transplant, he developed decompensation of his cirrhosis from hepatitis C, acute cellular rejection, and Kluyvera bacteremia, followed by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE bacteremia. Four months after transplant, the patient presented with lethargy and fluid overload. He subsequently developed shock and ventilator-dependent respiratory failure. An echocardiogram showed pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade. He had emergent pericardiocentesis that showed purulent drainage. He was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics. Amphotericin B was initiated when the pericardial fluid grew mold that was later identified as Aspergillus fumigatus. The patient quickly decompensated and expired.

  10. [Study on VNTR diversity of clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Qinghai].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bin; Liu, Haican; Wang, Zhaofen; Ma, Yongcheng; Su, Xiaodong; Jiang, Mingxia; Wan, Kanglin; Liu, Shou; Zhao, Xiuqin; Qu, Shugen

    2015-10-01

    To investigate the variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) genetic polymorphisms, genotyping and distribution pattern of clinical Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis isolates from Qinghai province. The clinical M. tuberculosis strains isolated from the patients with tuberculosis and related background data were collected from Qinghai Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2012. Genotyping was conducted by using multiple locus VNTR analysis (MLVA). Genomic DNA was extracted and 15 VNTR loci were amplified with PCR and the PCR products were detected with gel electrophoresis. The VNTR diversity and clusters of genotyping were analyzed with BioNumerics (Version 5.0). A total of 251 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates were analyzed with 15 VNTR loci showing that there were great genetic diversity in these isolates. Six of the 15 VNTR loci, showed that the Hunter-Gaston index (HGI) were higher than 0.6, in which the highest resolution was MIRU26. The clusters of genotyping showed that these isolates could be categorized into four gene clusters and 238 genotypes. The four gene clusters accounted for 4.9%, 91.9%, 1.6% and 1.6% of the clinical isolates, respectively. The results showed that there is great variety of VNTR genetic polymorphisms in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates in Qinghai province.

  11. Molecular identification of fungal isolates and hatching success of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candan, Esra Deniz

    2018-02-26

    The aim of this study is to investigate the fungal diversity of green turtle nests and to examine phylogenetic relationships among these isolates. During the nesting season, samples of intra-nest sand and failed eggs were collected from 25% of the surviving nests in Sugözü Beaches, which are amongst the most important nesting beaches for endangered green turtles in the Mediterranean. Twenty-three fungi were identified by molecular techniques. Fungal isolates belonged to genera Aspergillus, Emericella, Rhizopus, Actinomucor and Apophysomyces with two undescribed species. Aspergillus variecolor, Aspergillus quadrilinieatus, Aspergillus tubingensis, Rhizopus oryzae, Actinomucor elegans and Apophysomyces variabilis were firstly detected in all sea turtle nests within this study. Our results demonstrate that 36.4% of the nests had fungal contamination. Also hatching success of the nests contaminated by fungi were significantly lower than the uncontaminated nests (P = 0.029). Also, this may represent a threat to marine turtles and a risk for the health of conservation workers. This study is the first molecular phylogenetic study associated with sea turtle nests in the eastern Mediterranean coast and contributes to the wider body of literature on fungal invasion of sea turtle nests with firstly isolated species. These findings are important for improving potential conservation measures for the nest sites.

  12. Variation in fumonisin and ochratoxin production associated with differences in biosynthetic gene content in Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae isolates from multiple crop and geographic origins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonia Susca

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The fungi Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae are morphologically indistinguishable species used for industrial fermentation and for food and beverage production. The fungi also occur widely on food crops. Concerns about their safety have arisen with the discovery that some isolates of both species produce fumonisin (FB and ochratoxin A (OTA mycotoxins. Here, we examined FB and OTA production as well as the presence of genes responsible for synthesis of the mycotoxins in a collection of 92 A. niger/A. welwitschiae isolates from multiple crop and geographic origins. The results indicate that i isolates of both species differed in ability to produce the mycotoxins; ii FB-nonproducing isolates of A. niger had an intact fumonisin biosynthetic gene (fum cluster; iii FB-nonproducing isolates of A. welwitschiae exhibited multiple patterns of fum gene deletion; and iv OTA-nonproducing isolates of both species lacked the ochratoxin A biosynthetic gene (ota cluster. Analysis of genome sequence data revealed a single pattern of ota gene deletion in the two species. Phylogenetic analysis suggest that the simplest explanation for this is that ota cluster deletion occurred in a common ancestor of A. niger and A. welwitschiae, and subsequently both the intact and deleted cluster were retained as alternate alleles during divergence of the ancestor into descendent species. Finally, comparison of results from this and previous studies indicate that a majority of A. niger isolates and a minority of A. welwitschiae isolates can produce FBs, whereas a minority of isolates of both species produce OTA. The comparison also suggested that the relative abundance of each species and frequency of FB/OTA-producing isolates can vary with crop and/or geographic origin.

  13. Isolation, identification and toxigenic potential of ochratoxin A-producing Aspergillus species from coffee beans grown in two regions of Thailand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Noonim, P.; Mahakarnchanakul, W.; Nielsen, Kristian Fog

    2008-01-01

    In 2006 and 2007, 32 Thai dried coffee bean samples (Coffea arabica) from two growing sites of Chiang Mai Province, and 32 Thai dried coffee bean samples (Coffea canephora var. robusta) from two growing sites of Chumphon Province, Thailand, were collected and assessed for the distribution of fungi...... with the potential to produce ochratoxin A (OTA). The overall percentage of fungal contamination in coffee was 98% and reduced to 60% after surface disinfection. There were remarkable ecological differences in the composition of ochratoxigenic species present in these two regions. Arabica coffee bean samples from...... the North had an average of 78% incidence of colonization with Aspergillus of section Circumdati with Aspergillus westerdijkiae and A. melleus as the predominant species. Aspergillus spp. of section Nigri were found in 75% of the samples whereas A. ochraceus was not detected. Robusta coffee beans from...

  14. Variability in Galactomannan detection by platelia Aspergillus EIA™ according to the Aspergillus species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Orzechowski Xavier

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Here we investigate the extent to which different Aspergillus species release galactomannan (GM in vitro. Marked variability was observed in GM reactivity between and within Aspergillus species, with A. terreus strains showing the highest GM indexes. The in vivo significance of these findings remains to be determined.

  15. Antimicrobial Assay of Soil Mold Isolates from Wonorejo Surabaya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Septia Arisanti

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed to an examine antimicrobial activity of 34 soil molds isolates from the Wonorejo Surabaya on the growth of Gram negatif bacteria (Escherichia coli and Coliform Bacteria Group, Gram positif bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Antimicrobial ability detected with modification of dual culture antagonism assay in Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA medium. The result showed that genus Aspergillus, Scopulariopsis, Penicillium, Paecilomyces, Fusarium, and Trichoderma were able to inhibit E. coli; while genus Aspergillus, Scopulariopsis, Penicillium, Paecilomyces, Exophiala, Stachybotrys, and Acremonium inhibit B. subtilis; further on only genus Aspergillus could inhibit group of Coliform bacteria; and genus Scopulariopsis, Penicillium, Trichoderma, and Absidia inhibited the growth of yeast S. cerevisiae.

  16. A Novel Environmental Azole Resistance Mutation in Aspergillus fumigatus and a Possible Role of Sexual Reproduction in Its Emergence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianhua Zhang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the dynamics of Aspergillus fumigatus azole-resistant phenotypes in two compost heaps with contrasting azole exposures: azole free and azole exposed. After heat shock, to which sexual but not asexual spores are highly resistant, the azole-free compost yielded 98% (49/50 wild-type and 2% (1/50 azole-resistant isolates, whereas the azole-containing compost yielded 9% (4/45 wild-type and 91% (41/45 resistant isolates. From the latter compost, 80% (36/45 of the isolates contained the TR46/Y121F/T289A genotype, 2% (1/45 harbored the TR46/Y121F/M172I/T289A/G448S genotype, and 9% (4/45 had a novel pan-triazole-resistant mutation (TR463/Y121F/M172I/T289A/G448S with a triple 46-bp promoter repeat. Subsequent screening of a representative set of clinical A. fumigatus isolates showed that the novel TR463 mutant was already present in samples from three Dutch medical centers collected since 2012. Furthermore, a second new resistance mutation was found in this set that harbored four TR46 repeats. Importantly, in the laboratory, we recovered the TR463 mutation from a sexual cross between two TR46 isolates from the same azole-containing compost, possibly through unequal crossing over between the double tandem repeats (TRs during meiosis. This possible role of sexual reproduction in the emergence of the mutation was further implicated by the high level of genetic diversity of STR genotypes in the azole-containing compost. Our study confirms that azole resistance mutations continue to emerge in the environment and indicates compost containing azole residues as a possible hot spot. Better insight into the biology of environmental resistance selection is needed to retain the azole class for use in food production and treatment of Aspergillus diseases.

  17. Isolation of phosphate solubiliser fungi from Araza rhizosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vera, Diana Fernanda; Perez, Hernando; Valencia Hernando

    2002-01-01

    Araza is an eatable plant, original from the Amazon region, which has been described as a promising species for commercialization (Quevedo 1995). This plant has high productivity even in low content phosphate soil but the presence of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms may contribute to increase this element availability. In this study we report the isolation and characterization of solubilizing fungi processed using the soil washing method, from soil samples were araza is cultivated at two regions in Guaviare, Colombia. Eighteen isolates of fungi capable of solubilizing phosphate were obtained from 2 different sources. The most important species that solubilized phosphate from calcium were Trichoderma aureoviride, Aspergillus aculeatus, Trichoderma strain 1 y Trichoderma strain 2 and for phosphate from iron: Aspergillus oryzae, Paecilomyces strain 3, Gongronella butleri and Fusarium oxysporum

  18. In vivo confocal microscopy appearance of Fusarium and Aspergillus species in fungal keratitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chidambaram, Jaya Devi; Prajna, Namperumalsamy Venkatesh; Larke, Natasha; Macleod, David; Srikanthi, Palepu; Lanjewar, Shruti; Shah, Manisha; Lalitha, Prajna; Elakkiya, Shanmugam; Burton, Matthew J

    2017-08-01

    Clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis vary between Fusarium and Aspergillus spp, therefore distinguishing between species using morphological features such as filament branching angles, sporulation along filaments (adventitious sporulation) or dichotomous branching may be useful. In this study, we assessed these three features within Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3 in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) images from culture-positive Fusarium and Aspergillus spp keratitis participants. Prospective observational cohort study in Aravind Eye Hospital (February 2011-February 2012). Eligibility criteria: age ≥18 years, stromal infiltrate ≥3 mm diameter, Fusarium or Aspergillus spp culture-positive. previous/current herpetic keratitis, visual acuity 80% corneal thinning. IVCM was performed and images analysed for branch angle, presence/absence of adventitious sporulation or dichotomous branching by a grader masked to the microbiological diagnosis. 98 participants were included (106 eligible, 8 excluded as no measurable branch angles); 68 were positive for Fusarium spp, 30 for Aspergillus spp. Mean branch angle for Fusarium spp was 59.7° (95% CI 57.7° to 61.8°), and for Aspergillus spp was 63.3° (95% CI 60.8° to 65.8°), p=0.07. No adventitious sporulation was detected in Fusarium spp ulcers. Dichotomous branching was detected in 11 ulcers (7 Aspergillus spp, 4 Fusarium spp). There was very little difference in the branching angle of Fusarium and Aspergillus spp. Adventitious sporulation was not detected and dichotomous branching was infrequently seen. Although IVCM remains a valuable tool to detect fungal filaments in fungal keratitis, it cannot be used to distinguish Fusarium from Aspergillus spp and culture remains essential to determine fungal species. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  19. Variability of Germinative Potential among Pathogenic Species of Aspergillus

    OpenAIRE

    Araujo, Ricardo; Rodrigues, Acacio Gonçalves

    2004-01-01

    The objective of our study was to evaluate parameters influencing the germination of Aspergillus conidia. Inoculum concentration and age significantly influenced germination. Different incubation temperatures revealed significant differences among Aspergillus species. The internal human milieu provides the ideal conditions for the development of invasive disease by Aspergillus fumigatus but restricts invasion by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger.

  20. Performance of two Aspergillus IgG EIA assays compared with the precipitin test in chronic and allergic aspergillosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxter, C G; Denning, D W; Jones, A M; Todd, A; Moore, C B; Richardson, M D

    2013-04-01

    Detection of Aspergillus IgG antibodies is important in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Immunoprecipitation techniques to detect these antibodies appear to lack sensitivity and accurate quantitation compared with enzyme immunoassays (EIA). This study assessed the performance of two commercial EIAs compared with counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE). This was a prospective cohort study of 175 adult patients with chronic or allergic pulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergillus IgG antibodies were detected using CIE, Phadia ImmunoCap Aspergillus IgG and Bio-Rad Platelia Aspergillus IgG. Inter-assay reproducibility was determined for each method and 25 patients had two serum samples analysed within a 6-month interval. When compared with CIE, both ImmunoCap and Platelia Aspergillus IgG had good sensitivity (97 and 93%, respectively) for detection of Aspergillus IgG antibodies. The level of agreement between the two EIAs for positive results was good, but the concentration of antibodies was not correlated between the tests or with CIE titre. ImmunoCap IgG inter-assay coefficient of variation was 5%, whereas Platelia IgG was 33%. Median ImmunoCap IgG values for CPA and allergic aspergillosis were 95 and 32 mg/L, respectively, whereas Platelia IgG values were >80 and 6 AU/mL. The direction of CIE titre change over 6 months was mirrored by ImmunoCap IgG levels in 92% of patients, and by Platelia IgG in 72% of patients. Both ImmunoCap and Platelia Aspergillus IgG EIAs are sensitive measures of Aspergillus IgG antibodies compared with CIE. However, ImmunoCap appears to have better reproducibility and may be more suitable for monitoring patient disease. © 2012 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2012 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  1. Aspergillus Tracheobronchitis Causing Subtotal Tracheal Stenosis in a Liver Transplant Recipient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Radunz

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Invasive aspergillosis is recognized as one of the most significant opportunistic infections after liver transplantation. Diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in transplant recipients has been proven to be challenging, and optimal approach to the treatment of invasive aspergillosis is still controversial. We here present an unusual case of Aspergillus tracheobronchitis in the setting of liver transplantation. A 47-year-old female patient with persistent dry cough after liver transplantation developed respiratory insufficiency and was readmitted to the intensive care unit 55 days after liver transplantation. A CT scan revealed subtotal tracheal stenosis; bronchoscopy was performed, and extended white mucus coverings causative of the tracheal stenosis were removed. Microbiological assessment isolated Aspergillus fumigatus. The diagnosis was obstructive Aspergillus tracheobronchitis. The patient was started on a treatment of voriconazole 200 mg orally twice daily, adjusted to a trough level of 1–4 mg/L. For further airway management, a tracheal stent had to be implanted. The patient is alive and well 28 months after liver transplantation. Invasive aspergillosis should be considered a possible etiology in liver transplant patients presenting with unspecific symptoms such as persistent dry cough. Optimal strategies for improved and early diagnosis as well as prophylaxis need to be defined.

  2. Complementary Roles of the Classical and Lectin Complement Pathways in the Defense against Aspergillus fumigatus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosbjerg, Anne; Genster, Ninette; Pilely, Katrine

    2016-01-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus infections are associated with a high mortality rate for immunocompromised patients. The complement system is considered to be important in protection against this fungus, yet the course of activation is unclear. The aim of this study was to unravel the role of the classical......, lectin, and alternative pathways under both immunocompetent and immunocompromised conditions to provide a relevant dual-perspective on the response against A. fumigatus. Conidia (spores) from a clinical isolate of A. fumigatus were combined with various human serum types (including serum deficient...... complement on A. fumigatus, but required classical and/or lectin pathway for initiation. In normal human serum, this initiation came primarily from the classical pathway. However, with a dysfunctional classical pathway (C1q-deficient serum), lectin pathway activated complement and mediated opsonophagocytosis...

  3. Isolation and clinical sample typing of human leptospirosis cases in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiani, Yosena; Jacob, Paulina; Varni, Vanina; Landolt, Noelia; Schmeling, María Fernanda; Pujato, Nazarena; Caimi, Karina; Vanasco, Bibiana

    2016-01-01

    Leptospira typing is carried out using isolated strains. Because of difficulties in obtaining them, direct identification of infective Leptospira in clinical samples is a high priority. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) proved highly discriminatory for seven pathogenic species of Leptospira, allowing isolate characterization and robust assignment to species, in addition to phylogenetic evidence for the relatedness between species. In this study we characterized Leptospira strains circulating in Argentina, using typing methods applied to human clinical samples and isolates. Phylogenetic studies based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences enabled typing of 8 isolates (6 Leptospira interrogans, one Leptospira wolffii and one Leptospira broomii) and 58 out of 85 (68.2%) clinical samples (55 L. interrogans, 2 Leptospira meyeri, and one Leptospira kirschneri). MLST results for the L. interrogans isolates indicated that five were probably Canicola serogroup (ST37) and one was probably Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup (ST17). Eleven clinical samples (21.6%), provided MLST interpretable data: five were probably Pyrogenes serogroup (ST13), four Sejroe (ST20), one Autumnalis (ST22) and one Canicola (ST37). To the best of our knowledge this study is the first report of the use of an MLST typing scheme with seven loci to identify Leptospira directly from clinical samples in Argentina. The use of clinical samples presents the advantage of the possibility of knowing the infecting strain without resorting to isolates. This study also allowed, for the first time, the characterization of isolates of intermediate pathogenicity species (L. wolffii and L. broomii) from symptomatic patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Gardening can induce pulmonary failure: Aspergillus ARDS in an immunocompetent patient, a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Nina; Mronga, Silke; Schroth, Susanne; Vassiliou, Timon; Sommer, Frank; Walthers, Eduard; Aepinus, Christian; Jerrentrup, Andreas; Vogelmeier, Claus; Holland, Angelique; Koczulla, Rembert

    2014-11-26

    Acute Aspergillus fumigatus infection in immunocompetent patients is rare. This is the first known case of a patient who survived Aspergillus sepsis after being treated early with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane (ECMO) and antifungal therapy. An immunocompetent 54-year-old woman was exposed to plant mulch during gardening and subsequently developed pulmonary failure that progressed to sepsis with multiorgan failure. Owing to her severe clinical condition, she was treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with veno-venous ECMO. Empiric antifungal therapy comprising voriconazole was also initiated owing to her history and a previous case report of aspergillosis after plant mulch exposure, though there was no microbiological proof at the time. A. fumigatus was later cultured and detected on antibody testing. The patient recovered, and ECMO was discontinued 1 week later. After 7 days of antifungal treatment, Aspergillus antibodies were undetectable. In cases of sepsis that occur after gardening, clinicians should consider Aspergillus inhalation as an aetiology, and early antimycotic therapy is recommended.

  5. Aspergillus and aflatoxin in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and groundnut cake in Eastern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammed, Abdi; Chala, Alemayehu; Dejene, Mashilla; Fininsa, Chemeda; Hoisington, David A; Sobolev, Victor S; Arias, Renee S

    2016-12-01

    This study was conducted to assess major Aspergillus species and aflatoxins associated with groundnut seeds and cake in Eastern Ethiopia and evaluate growers' management practices. A total of 160 groundnut seed samples from farmers' stores and 50 groundnut cake samples from cafe and restaurants were collected. Fungal isolation was done from groundnut seed samples. Aspergillus flavus was the dominant species followed by Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxin analyses of groundnut seed samples were performed using ultra performance liquid chromatography; 22.5% and 41.3% of samples were positive, with total aflatoxin concentrations of 786 and 3135 ng g -1 from 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 samples, respectively. The level of specific aflatoxin concentration varied between 0.1 and 2526 ng g -1 for B 2 and B 1 , respectively. Among contaminated samples of groundnut cake, 68% exhibited aflatoxin concentration below 20 ng g -1 , while as high as 158 ng g -1 aflatoxin B 1 was recorded. The study confirms high contamination of groundnut products in East Ethiopia.

  6. [Studies on metabolites from marine microorganism Aspergillus terreus collected from nature reserve region of mangrove].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Yi; Zou, Jianhua; Dai, Jungui

    2011-09-01

    To search for new antitumor active lead compounds from marine microorganism. A marine strain, Aspergillus terreus, was cultured and up-scaled in artificial seawater media, from which the metabolites were isolated and elucidated by using modern spectroscopy techniques. Twelve compounds were isolated from mycelia and fermentation broth of A. terreus. Compounds 1-4 were steroids, compounds 5-8 were organic acids and esters, compound 9 was an alkaloid, compound 10 was an isocoumarin, compound 11 was ceramide, compound 12 was propenyl cyclic pentanediol.

  7. The Potential of Different Fungal Isolates for Production of Lovostatin Under Solid State Fermentation (SSF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ezzat, S.M.; Ahmed, A.S.; Auda, S.M.; Younis, N.A.; Yousef, S.A.

    2015-01-01

    Eleven fungal isolates were grown on different agricultural wastes (maize stalks, rice husk, wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse) at a concentration of 30% to detect their ability for the production of lovastatin. The highest yield on maize stalks was obtained by Aspergillus flavus 11 while for rice husk, Aspergillus niger 12 exhibited the highest yield of lovastatin. Also Aspergillus flavus 11, Aspergillus niger 12 and A. terreus 18 were found to produce the highest lovastatin production with wheat straw and the highest yield on bagasse was obtained by A. terreus 18. Different concentrations of the best agricultural wastes (maize stalks, rice husk and wheat straw) were used as solid substrates to study their effects on lovastatin yield by the selected fungal isolates. The highest yield of lovastatin for the tested fungal isolates was obtained at 10% concentration for the three substrates and the highest yield was obtained by A. niger 14 and A. terreus 18. The influence of mutagenic agents (UV light and gamma rays) on these two potent fungal isolates in relation to lovastatin production showed that UV exposure for 120 min was the best in case of A. niger 14 while it was 30 min in case of A. terreus 18. On the other hand, gamma rays exhibited the highest lovastatin yield at exposure dose of 0.5 kGy for A. niger 14 and 0.25 kGy for A. terreus 18.

  8. Isolation and identification of microbes associated with mobile phones in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amira H.A Al-Abdalall

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This study was conducted to determine microbial contamination of mobile phones in the city of Dammam, in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia, and identify the most important microbial species associated with these phones in order to take the necessary remedial measures. Materials and Methods: The analysis of a total of 202 samples was done to identify fungal and pathogenic bacteria isolates. Sterile swabs were firmly passed on the handset, the buttons and the screens of mobile phones, then inoculated into media of bacteria and fungi. Frequency distribution of isolates were calculated. Results: There were 737 isolated of the following bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Neisseria sicca, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus subtilis, and Enterobacter aerogenes at the rate of 56.58, 13.57, 8.01, 7.73, 6.51, 3.66, 2.85 and 1.09% respectively. There were fungal isolates as follows: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium sp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus ochraceus at the rate of 29.07, 26.74, 20.93, 10.47, 6.98, 2.33, 2.33, 1.16%, respectively. Conclusions: The study showed that all mobile phones under consideration were infected by several microbes, most of which belonged to the natural flora of the human body as well as airborne fungi and soil. This means that it is necessary to sterilize hands after contact with a phone since it is a source of disease transmission.

  9. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with aspergillus sinusitis-′9′ year old boy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Das Pratima

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A case of Broncho Pulmonary Aspergillosis with Aspergillus Sinusitis was diagnosed in a nine year old boy after clinical and immunological investigations. He responded well after treatment with steroid and itraconazol.

  10. A MIQE-compliant real-time PCR assay for Aspergillus detection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gemma L Johnson

    Full Text Available The polymerase chain reaction (PCR is widely used as a diagnostic tool in clinical laboratories and is particularly effective for detecting and identifying infectious agents for which routine culture and microscopy methods are inadequate. Invasive fungal disease (IFD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients, and optimal diagnostic criteria are contentious. Although PCR-based methods have long been used for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA, variable performance in clinical practice has limited their value. This shortcoming is a consequence of differing sample selection, collection and preparation protocols coupled with a lack of standardisation of the PCR itself. Furthermore, it has become clear that the performance of PCR-based assays in general is compromised by the inadequacy of experimental controls, insufficient optimisation of assay performance as well as lack of transparency in reporting experimental details. The recently published "Minimum Information for the publication of real-time Quantitative PCR Experiments" (MIQE guidelines provide a blueprint for good PCR assay design and unambiguous reporting of experimental detail and results. We report the first real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR assay targeting Aspergillus species that has been designed, optimised and validated in strict compliance with the MIQE guidelines. The hydrolysis probe-based assay, designed to target the 18S rRNA DNA sequence of Aspergillus species, has an efficiency of 100% (range 95-107%, a dynamic range of at least six orders of magnitude and limits of quantification and detection of 6 and 0.6 Aspergillus fumigatus genomes, respectively. It does not amplify Candida, Scedosporium, Fusarium or Rhizopus species and its clinical sensitivity is demonstrated in histological material from proven IA cases, as well as concordant PCR and galactomannan data in matched broncho-alveolar lavage and blood samples. The robustness

  11. Aspergillus acidus from Puerh tea and black tea does not produce ochratoxin A and fumonisin B-2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Jesper Mølgaard; Varga, J.; Thrane, Ulf

    2009-01-01

    the mycotoxins ochratoxin A, fumonisins B-2 and B-4. With this in mind, we performed a preliminary study to determine if production of these mycotoxins by black Aspergilli isolated from Puerh and black tea can occur. An examination of 47 isolates from Puerh tea and black tea showed that none of these was A....... niger. A part of the calmodulin gene in 17 isolates were sequenced, and these 17 isolates were all identified as Aspergillus acidus (=A. foetidus var. acidus). The rest of the 47 isolates were also identified as A. acidus from their metabolite profile. Neither production of ochratoxin A nor fumonisins B...

  12. The Changes of Elements Composition in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus at Different Co2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ Concentrations Using X-rays Microanalysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouda, S.M.

    2010-01-01

    X-ray microanalysis in electron microscope allows simultaneous detection and quantitative analysis of several elements so it contributes to understand the role of ions in physiological processes. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis used to detect the changes in elements levels in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus when allowing to grow on Czapek's Dox liquid media amended with different Co 2+ , Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ concentrations and these changes may play a role in fungal uptake for these heavy metal ions. Results showed that Ca, Zn and Cu levels in both fungal isolates significantly decreased (P<0.05) when concentrations of used metal ions increased, also O, Na, Cl and K levels for A. niger and C and P for A. terreus recorded significant reduction (P<0.05) in their percentages. Also, the results revealed that, C and P for A. niger and O, Na, Mg, Cl and K levels for A. terreus significantly increased (P<0.05) as a result of increasing metal ions concentrations. Lack of Cd and Pb peaks in X-ray spectrum for A. terreus led this work to conclude that, A. niger was more effective than A. terreus in Co, Cd, Pb uptake into fungal biomass. The increase or decrease of levels of detected elements could be related to the difference between two fungal isolates in uptake certain heavy metal ion (Co, Cd, Pb)

  13. Characterization of recombinant terrelysin, a hemolysin of Aspergillus terreus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Ajay P; Blachere, Françoise M; Hettick, Justin M; Lukomski, Slawomir; Schmechel, Detlef; Beezhold, Donald H

    2011-01-01

    Fungal hemolysins are potential virulence factors. Some fungal hemolysins belong to the aegerolysin protein family that includes cytolysins capable of lysing erythrocytes and other cells. Here, we describe a hemolysin from Aspergillus terreus called terrelysin. We used the genome sequence database to identify the terrelysin sequence based on homology with other known aegerolysins. Aspergillus terreus mRNA was isolated, transcribed to cDNA and the open reading frame for terrelysin amplified by PCR using specific primers. Using the pASK-IBA6 cloning vector, we produced recombinant terrelysin (rTerrelysin) as a fusion product in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified and using MALDI-TOF MS determined to have a mass of 16,428 Da. Circular dichroism analysis suggests the secondary structure of the protein to be predominantly β-sheet. Results from thermal denaturation of rTerrelysin show that the protein maintained the β-sheet confirmation up to 65°C. Polyclonal antibody to rTerrelysin recognized a protein of approximately 16.5 kDa in mycelial extracts from A. terreus.

  14. Characterization of the Aspergillus niger prtT, a unique regulator of extracellular protease encoding genes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Punt, P.J.; Schuren, F.H.J.; Lehmbeck, J.; Christensen, T.; Hjort, C.; Hondel, C.A.M.J.J. van den

    2008-01-01

    Expression of several Aspergillus niger genes encoding major secreted, but not vacuolar, protease genes including the major acid protease gene pepA, was shown to be affected in the previously isolated A. niger protease mutant, AB1.13 [Mattern, I.E., van Noort, J.M., van den Berg, P., Archer, D.A.,

  15. Aspergillus oryzae NRRL 35191 from coffee, a non-toxigenic endophyte with the ability to synthesize kojic acid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus oryzae was isolated as an endophyte from coffee leaves and found to produce kojic acid in culture. When inoculated in cacao seedlings (Theobroma cacao L.), A. oryzae grew endophytically and synthesize kojic acid in planta. Cacao seedlings inoculated with A. oryzae produced higher levels...

  16. Mycoflora and aflatoxin/fumonisin production by fungal isolates from freshly harvested corn hybrids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almeida Adriana P.

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The mycoflora of 3 hybrids of freshly harvested corn grains collected from three regions of the state of São Paulo, Brazil (Assis, Capão Bonito and Ribeirão Preto was investigated. A total of 66 samples were analyzed focusing on the influence of abiotic factors (moisture content, water activity, temperature and rainfall on both the prevalence of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium moniliforme, and the ability of these genera isolates to produce aflatoxins and fumonisins, respectively. In the three surveyed regions, the fungal population comprised mainly Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp. and 2 others filamentous fungal genera, which were isolated from corn kernels showing water activity of 0.30 to 0.99 and moisture content of 5.0% to 20.2%. Among the genera Fusarium and Aspergillus, the most frequent species were F. moniliforme and A. flavus, respectively. Concerning the toxigenic potential of F. moniliforme, all isolated strains (40 produced fumonisins at 20 mug/g to 2168 mug/g (FB1 and/or 10 mug/g to 380 mug/g (FB2. From the 10 A. flavus isolates, 6 strains (60.0% produced aflatoxins at 615 mug/kg to 30.750 mug/kg (AFB1 and/or 11 mug/kg to 22 mug/kg (AFB2.

  17. Aspergillus niger: an unusual cause of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Person, A. K.; Chudgar, S. M.; Norton, B. L.; Tong, B. C.; Stout, J. E.

    2010-01-01

    Infections due to Aspergillus species cause significant morbidity and mortality. Most are attributed to Aspergillus fumigatus, followed by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus terreus. Aspergillus niger is a mould that is rarely reported as a cause of pneumonia. A 72-year-old female with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and temporal arteritis being treated with steroids long term presented with haemoptysis and pleuritic chest pain. Chest radiography revealed areas of heterogeneous consolidation with cavitation in the right upper lobe of the lung. Induced bacterial sputum cultures, and acid-fast smears and cultures were negative. Fungal sputum cultures grew A. niger. The patient clinically improved on a combination therapy of empiric antibacterials and voriconazole, followed by voriconazole monotherapy. After 4 weeks of voriconazole therapy, however, repeat chest computed tomography scanning showed a significant progression of the infection and near-complete necrosis of the right upper lobe of the lung. Serum voriconazole levels were low–normal (1.0 μg ml−1, normal range for the assay 0.5–6.0 μg ml−1). A. niger was again recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage specimens. A right upper lobectomy was performed, and lung tissue cultures grew A. niger. Furthermore, the lung histopathology showed acute and organizing pneumonia, fungal hyphae and oxalate crystallosis, confirming the diagnosis of invasive A. niger infection. A. niger, unlike A. fumigatus and A. flavus, is less commonly considered a cause of invasive aspergillosis (IA). The finding of calcium oxalate crystals in histopathology specimens is classic for A. niger infection and can be helpful in making a diagnosis even in the absence of conidia. Therapeutic drug monitoring may be useful in optimizing the treatment of IA given the wide variations in the oral bioavailability of voriconazole. PMID:20299503

  18. Microbial Observatory (ISS-MO): Draft Genome Sequence of two Aspergillus fumigatus Strains Isolated from the International Space Station

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic filamentous fungus that is ubiquitous outdoors (soil decaying vegetation) and indoors (hospitals simulated closed habitats...

  19. Induced sclerotium formation exposes new bioactive metabolites from Aspergillus sclerotiicarbonarius

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lene Maj; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Knudsen, Peter Boldsen

    2015-01-01

    Sclerotia are known to be fungal survival structures, and induction of sclerotia may prompt production of otherwise undiscovered metabolites. Aspergillus sclerotiicarbonarius (IBT 28362) was investigated under sclerotium producing conditions, which revealed a highly altered metabolic profile. Four...... new compounds were isolated from cultivation under sclerotium formation conditions and their structures elucidated using different analytical techniques (HRMS, UV, 1D and 2D NMR). This included sclerolizine, an alkylated and oxidized pyrrolizine, the new emindole analog emindole SC and two new...

  20. Isolation and Biological Evaluation of Two Bioactive Metabolites from Aspergillus gorakhpurensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venkateswarlu Yenamandra

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Fungi are known to produce a vast array of secondary metabolites that are gaining importance for their biotechnological applications. Screening of Aspergillus gorakhpurensis for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites results in the production of 4-(N-methyl-N-phenyl amino butan-2-one and itaconic acid. The structure of the known compounds was established by 1H-, 13C-NMR and Mass spectral data. Biological evaluation of the two compounds against test microorganisms showed strong inhibitory activity of 4-(N-methyl-N-phenyl amino butan-2-one towards bacteria and fungi. Only 4-( N -methyl-N- phenyl amino-butan-2-one showed a marked significant activity (LD 50 = 330.69 m g/mL in Spodoptera litura larvicidal bioassay.

  1. Effects of temperature, water activity and incubation time on fungal growth and aflatoxin B1 production by toxinogenic Aspergillus flavus isolates on sorghum seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahouar, Amani; Marin, Sonia; Crespo-Sempere, Ana; Saïd, Salem; Sanchis, Vicente

    2016-01-01

    Sorghum, which is consumed in Tunisia as human food, suffers from severe colonization by several toxigenic fungi and contamination by mycotoxins. The Tunisian climate is characterized by high temperature and humidity that stimulates mold proliferation and mycotoxin accumulation in foodstuffs. This study investigated the effects of temperature (15, 25 and 37°C), water activity (aw, between 0.85 and 0.99) and incubation time (7, 14, 21 and 28 d) on fungal growth and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production by three Aspergillus flavus isolates (8, 10 and 14) inoculated on sorghum grains. The Baranyi model was applied to identify the limits of growth and mycotoxin production. Maximum diameter growth rates were observed at 0.99 a(w) at 37°C for two of the isolates. The minimum aw needed for mycelial growth was 0.91 at 25 and 37°C. At 15°C, only isolate 8 grew at 0.99 a(w). Aflatoxin B1 accumulation could be avoided by storing sorghum at low water activity levels (≤0.91 a(w)). Aflatoxin production was not observed at 15°C. This is the first work on the effects of water activity and temperature on A. flavus growth and AFB1 production by A. flavus isolates on sorghum grains. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Isolation of Ascomycetous Fungi from a Tertiary Institution Campus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The predominant Ascomycetous fungi isolated include among others; Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium italicum, Fusarium acuminatum, Fusarium culmorum, Candida albicans, Botrytis cinerea, Geotrichum candidum, Trichoderma viride, Verticillium lateritum, Curvularia palescens ...

  3. Heterologous expression of Gaeumannomyces graminis lipoxygenase in Aspergillus nidulans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heshof, R.; Schayck, van J.P.; Tamayo Ramos, J.A.; Graaff, de L.H.

    2014-01-01

    Aspergillus sp. contain ppo genes coding for Ppo enzymes that produce oxylipins from polyunsaturated fatty acids. These oxylipins function as signal molecules in sporulation and influence the asexual to sexual ratio of Aspergillus sp. Fungi like Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus niger contain

  4. Use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry for caspofungin susceptibility testing of Candida and Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Carolis, Elena; Vella, Antonietta; Florio, Ada R; Posteraro, Patrizia; Perlin, David S; Sanguinetti, Maurizio; Posteraro, Brunella

    2012-07-01

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was evaluated for testing susceptibility to caspofungin of wild-type and fks mutant isolates of Candida and Aspergillus. Complete essential agreement was observed with the CLSI reference method, with categorical agreement for 94.1% of the Candida isolates tested. Thus, MALDI-TOF MS is a reliable and accurate method to detect fungal isolates with reduced caspofungin susceptibility.

  5. epi-Aszonalenins A, B, and C from Aspergillus novofumigatus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rank, Christian; Phipps, Richard Kerry; Harris, Pernille

    2006-01-01

    Three new benzodiazepines have been isolated from an unusual chemotype of Aspergillus novofumigatus: epi-aszonalenins A, B, and C. The structures were elucidated by use of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic techniques and HR ESI MS. The relative configuration was established on the basis...... of a single crystal X-ray diffraction study of epi-aszonalenin A and the absolute configuration was determined by optical rotation comparison with the literature data. The absolute configurations of epi-aszonalenins B and C were determined by circular dichroism comparison to epi-aszonalenin A....

  6. [Survival Strategies of Aspergillus in the Human Body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tashiro, Masato; Izumikawa, Koichi

    2017-01-01

     The human body is a hostile environment for Aspergillus species, which originally live outside the human body. There are lots of elimination mechanisms against Aspergillus inhaled into the human body, such as high body temperature, soluble lung components, mucociliary clearance mechanism, or responses of phagocytes. Aspergillus fumigatus, which is the primary causative agent of human infections among the human pathogenic species of Aspergillus, defend itself from the hostile human body environment by various mechanisms, such as thermotolerance, mycotoxin production, and characteristic morphological features. Here we review mechanisms of defense in Aspergillus against elimination from the human body.

  7. RAPD- and ERIC-Based Typing of Clinical and Environmental Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auda, Ibtesam Ghadban; Al-Kadmy, Israa M S; Kareem, Sawsan Mohammed; Lafta, Aliaa Khyuon; A'Affus, Mustafa Hussein Obeid; Khit, Ibrahim Abd Aloahd; Al Kheraif, Abdulaziz Abdullah; Divakar, Darshan Devang; Ramakrishnaiah, Ravikumar

    2017-03-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of nosocomial infection in children and adults, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality due to its ability to acquire drug resistance. The ability of P. aeruginosa in the environment to cause infection in individuals has been reported previously; henceforth, surveillance of the emergence and transmission of P. aeruginosa strains among patients is important for infection control in a clinical setup. Various gene-typing methods have been used for epidemiological typing of P. aeruginosa isolates for the purpose of surveillance. In this work, the suitability and comparability of two typing methods, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR fingerprinting, were studied to characterize P. aeruginosa strains isolated from clinical and environmental sources. Forty-four clinical and environmental bacterial isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected between October 2015 and January 2016. DNA extraction, ERIC-PCR and RAPD-PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis, and phylogenetic analyses were carried using the unweighted pair-group method with mean. RAPD typing revealed less clonality among clinical isolates, whereas the ERIC method showed greater similarity in comparison with RAPD. Environmental isolates, however, showed greater similarity using RAPD compared with ERIC typing. With only a few exceptions, most clinical isolates were distinct from environmental isolates, irrespective of the typing method. In conclusion, both the RAPD and ERIC typing methods proved to be good tools in understanding clonal diversity. The results also suggest that there is no relationship between clinical and environmental isolates. The absence of clonality among the clinical isolates may indicate that most P. aeruginosa infection cases could be endemic and not epidemic and that endemic infections may be due to nonclonal strains of P. aeruginosa.

  8. Mutants of Aspergillus nidulans with increased resistance to the alkylating agent, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooley, P; Shawcross, S G; Strike, P

    1988-05-01

    The isolation and characterisation of mutants of Aspergillus nidulans showing resistance to MNNG is described. Such isolates were stable through prolonged subculture in the absence of the selective agent, and resistance segregated as an allele of a single gene in meiotic and mitotic analysis. MNNG-resistant strains showed an increase in resistance to EMS and UV irradiation but no cross-resistance to MMS was detected. Possible mechanisms of resistance to alkylating agents are discussed.

  9. Morphological and molecular identification of filamentous fungi isolated from cosmetic powders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavia Cristina Jastale Pinto

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Seven fungi were isolated from 50 samples of cosmetic powders. Morphological analyses and ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacers sequencing were performed which allowed the discrimination of the isolated fungi as Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium sp., and Cladosporium sp. which could have, among their species, potentially pathogenic microorganisms.

  10. Isolation and screening of some medically important fungi from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rania Abedin

    2012-10-04

    Oct 4, 2012 ... growth and adhesion of the isolated fungi as Aspergillus sydowii, Cochliobolus hawaiiensis,. Cochliobolus ... tissues) in human are subjected to infection by several ..... different materials and metals (Al-Garni et al., 2007).

  11. Isolation and characterization of a native strain of Aspergillus niger ZRS14 with capability of high resistance to zinc and its supernatant application towards extracellular synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morahem Ashengroph

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Zinc oxide nanoparticles have quite a few applications in the fields of biology, optics, mechanics, magnetism, energy, hygiene and medicine. Due to serious problems associated with physiochemical synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles, including environmental pollution, complicated and costly processes, there is a growing need to develop a simple biological procedure for synthesis of nanoparticles to achieve the monodisperse-sized particles with a higher purity, low energy consumption and a cleaner environment. We conducted this investigation to screen and isolate native fungi strains capable of high zinc metal tolerance ability and a potential for extracellular synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using fungal secretions as biological catalysts.Materials and methods: 15 different strains of fungi were isolated from soil samples collected from lead and zinc mines of Angoran-Zanjan using conventional enrichment process and characterized initially based on macroscopic and microscopic characteristics and colony morphology. The intrinsic tolerance of the isolated strains to zinc toxic metal was measured in the synthetic and complex media using the agar dilution method. The supernatants of isolated fungi were incubated with zinc acetate solution in a shaker incubator for 72h; then, the strain that was able to synthesis ZnO nanoparticle was identified. The ZnO nanoparticles formation was investigated by using spectroscopic techniques and microscopic observations.Results: Among the 15 isolated strains, the strain ZRS14 had highest zinc metal tolerance ability and was selected and identified as Aspergillus niger strain ZRS14 (GenBank accession number KF414527 based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis. For synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by isolated A. niger ZRS14, fungal cell-free filtrate of the strain was collected and incubated in the presence of zinc acetate solution at a final concentration of 250 mg/l zinc metal ion at 28º C for

  12. Isolation, speciation, and antibiogram of clinically relevant non-diphtherial Corynebacteria (Diphtheroids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B S Reddy

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Coryneform or the non-diphtherial Corynebacterium species largely remains a neglected group with the traditional consideration of these organisms as contaminants. This concept, however, is slowly changing in the light of recent observations. This study has been done to find out the species distribution and antibiogram of various members of the clinically relevant Coryneform group, isolated from various clinical materials. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fourteen non-duplicate isolates of diphtheroids from various clinical isolates were selected for the study. The isolates were identified to the species level by using a battery of tests; and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by using a combination of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC guidelines, in the absence of definitive CLSI guidelines. Results: Corynebacterium amycolatum was the predominant species (35.9% in our series followed by the CDC Group G organisms (15.7%. Each of the remaining 19 species comprised of less than 10% of the isolates. More than half the total isolates were resistant to the penicillins, erythromycin, and clindamycin; while excellent activity (all the strains being susceptible was shown by vancomycin, linezolid, and tigecycline. Chloramphenicol and tetracycline also had good activity in inhibiting more than 80% of the isolates. Multiply drug resistance was exhibited by all the species. Conclusion: This study was an attempt to establish the clinical significance of coryneform organisms. The high level of resistance shown by this group to some of the common antibacterial agents highlights the importance of processing these isolates in select conditions to guide the clinicians towards an appropriate therapy.

  13. Intra and extracellular nuclease production by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferreira Adlane V. B.

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available Intra and extracellular nuclease production by strains of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans was estimated using a modified DNAse test agar and cell-free extract assays. Differences in the production of nucleases by A. niger and A. nidulans were observed. These observations suggest that the DNAse test agar can be helpful for a quick screening for some types of nucleases in filamentous fungi. The assays using cell-free extracts can also be useful for initial characterization of other types of nucleases.

  14. Fusidic acid resistance among staphylococci strains isolated from clinical specimens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özcan Deveci

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate in vitrosusceptibility of fusidic acid to clinic isolates of staphylococci.Materials and methods: The forty-one coagulase negativestaphylococci (CNS and 18 Staphylococcus aureusstrains isolated from various clinical specimens were includedin this study. Staphylococci isolates were identifiedby conventional methods such as colony morphologyonto medium, gram staining, catalase and coagulasetests. According to “Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI” criteria, antimicrobial susceptibility testingof isolates was performed by Kirby-Bauer’s disk diffusionmethod.Results: The seventy-two percent of the isolated S.aureuswere defined as methicillin sensitive-S.aureus (MSSA,28% of the isolated S.aureus were defined as methicillinresistant-S.aureus (MRSA. The difference among fusidicacid susceptibility rates of MSSA and MRSA strains wasnot statistically significant (p=0.305. The twenty-nine percentof the isolated CNS were defined as methicillin sensitive-CNS (MS-CNS, 71% of the isolated CNS were definedas methicillin resistant-CNS (MR-CNS. There wasno statistically significant difference between MS-CNSand MR-CNS strains for fusidic acid susceptibility rates(p=0.490. But the difference among fusidic acid susceptibilityrates of CNS and S.aureus strains was statisticallysignificant (p<0.001. CNS strains were found more resistancethan S.aureus strains for fusidic acid.Conclusion: In this study, the resistance rates weredetected to increase for fusidic acid along with methicillinresistance. Among CNS isolates, fusidic acid resistancerates were significantly more elevated than that forS.aureus. Fusidic acid remains as an alternative in thetreatment of infections due to staphylococci.

  15. A comparative secretome analysis of industrial Aspergillus oryzae and its spontaneous mutant ZJGS-LZ-21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yuanyuan; Liang, Xinle; Zhang, Hong; Feng, Wei; Liu, Ye; Zhang, Fuming; Linhardt, Robert J

    2017-05-02

    Aspergillus oryzae koji plays a crucial role in fermented food products due to the hydrolytic activities of secreted enzymes. In the present study, we performed a comparative secretome analysis of the industrial strain of Aspergillus oryzae 3.042 and its spontaneous mutantZJGS-LZ-21. One hundred and fifty two (152) differential protein spots were excised (p<0.05), and 25 proteins were identified. Of the identified proteins, 91.3% belonged to hydrolytic enzymes acting on carbohydrates or proteins. Consistent with their enzyme activities, the expression of 14 proteins involved in the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, starch and proteins, increased in the ZJGS-LZ-21isolate. In particular, increased levels of acid protease (Pep) may favor the degradation of soy proteins in acidic environments and promote the cleavage of allergenic soybean proteins in fermentation, resulting in improvements of product safety and quality. The ZJGS-LZ-21 isolate showed higher protein secretion and increased hydrolytic activities than did strain 3.042, indicating its promising application in soybean paste fermentation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Phylogeny, identification and nomenclature of the genus Aspergillus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samson, R.A.; Visagie, C.M.; Houbraken, J.; Hong, S.-B.; Hubka, V.; Klaassen, C.H.W.; Perrone, G.; Seifert, K.A.; Susca, A.; Tanney, J.B.; Varga, J.; Kocsubé, S.; Szigeti, G.; Yaguchi, T.; Frisvad, J.C.

    2014-01-01

    Aspergillus comprises a diverse group of species based on morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characters, which significantly impact biotechnology, food production, indoor environments and human health. Aspergillus was traditionally associated with nine teleomorph genera, but phylogenetic data suggest that together with genera such as Polypaecilum, Phialosimplex, Dichotomomyces and Cristaspora, Aspergillus forms a monophyletic clade closely related to Penicillium. Changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants resulted in the move to one name per species, meaning that a decision had to be made whether to keep Aspergillus as one big genus or to split it into several smaller genera. The International Commission of Penicillium and Aspergillus decided to keep Aspergillus instead of using smaller genera. In this paper, we present the arguments for this decision. We introduce new combinations for accepted species presently lacking an Aspergillus name and provide an updated accepted species list for the genus, now containing 339 species. To add to the scientific value of the list, we include information about living ex-type culture collection numbers and GenBank accession numbers for available representative ITS, calmodulin, β-tubulin and RPB2 sequences. In addition, we recommend a standard working technique for Aspergillus and propose calmodulin as a secondary identification marker. PMID:25492982

  17. Comparative effect of mutation of Aspergillus oryzae by gamma or ultraviolet irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Hitoshi; Nessa, A.

    1994-01-01

    Mutation frequency of Aspergillus oryzae IAM2630 was studied compared with gamma and ultraviolet irradiation. In this study, mutation frequency of morphological changes on survived colonies was increased up to 50% by irradiation of gamma-rays at survival fraction of 10 -3 to 10 -4 on potato-dextrose agar. On the contrary, mutation frequency of ultraviolet was obtained less than 17% at survival fraction of 10 -3 . Mutants with improvement of three-to-five hold production of α-amylase were isolated by irradiation of gamma-rays at 1.2 kGy. However, we could not isolate any mutants of higher production of α-amylase by ultraviolet irradiation. (author)

  18. Comparative effect of mutation of Aspergillus oryzae by gamma or ultraviolet irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ito, Hitoshi; Nessa, A. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment

    1994-08-01

    Mutation frequency of Aspergillus oryzae IAM2630 was studied compared with gamma and ultraviolet irradiation. In this study, mutation frequency of morphological changes on survived colonies was increased up to 50% by irradiation of gamma-rays at survival fraction of 10{sup -3} to 10{sup -4} on potato-dextrose agar. On the contrary, mutation frequency of ultraviolet was obtained less than 17% at survival fraction of 10{sup -3}. Mutants with improvement of three-to-five hold production of {alpha}-amylase were isolated by irradiation of gamma-rays at 1.2 kGy. However, we could not isolate any mutants of higher production of {alpha}-amylase by ultraviolet irradiation. (author).

  19. Blood Aspergillus RNA is a promising alternative biomarker for invasive aspergillosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yanan; Paderu, Padmaja; Railkar, Radha; Douglas, Cameron; Iannone, Robert; Shire, Norah; Perlin, David S

    2016-11-01

    A critical challenge for the successful application of antifungal therapies for invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a lack of reliable biomarkers to assess early treatment response. Patients with proven or probable IA were prospectively enrolled, and serial blood samples were collected at 8 specified time points during 12-week antifungal therapy. Total nucleic acid was extracted from 2.5 ml blood and tested for Aspergillus-specific RNA by a pan-Aspergillus real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) assay. Serum 1, 3-β-D-glucan (BG) and galactomannan (GM) were measured in parallel. Clinical outcome was evaluated at 6 and 12 weeks. Overall, 48/328 (14.6%) blood samples from 29/46 (63%) patients had positive NASBA detection at baseline and/or some point during the study. Positive NASBA results during the first 4 and 6 weeks of treatment are significantly associated with the 12-week outcome. Blood RNA load change during weeks 4-6 may be informative to predict outcome at 12 weeks. While independent of serum GM, the kinetic change of circulating Aspergillus RNA appears to be well correlated with that of BG on some patient individuals. Monitoring blood Aspergillus RNA during the first 4-6 weeks of antifungal treatment may help assess therapeutic response. Combination of circulating Aspergillus RNA and BG may be a useful adjunct to assess response. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Effect of essential oils on Aspergillus spore germination, growth and mycotoxin production:a potential source of botanical food preservative

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Negero Gemeda; Yimtubezinash Woldeamanuel; Daniel Asrat; Asfaw Debella

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To investigate effect of essential oils on Aspergillus spore germination, growth and mycotoxin production.Method: In vitro antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activity of essential oils was carried out using poisoned food techniques, spore germination assay, agar dilution assay, and aflatoxin arresting assay on toxigenic strains of Aspergillus species.Results: Cymbopogon martinii, Foeniculum vulgare and Trachyspermum ammi (T. ammi) essential oils were tested against toxicogenic isolates of Aspergillus species. T. ammi oil showed highest antifungal activity. Absolute mycelial inhibition was recorded at 1 µl/mL by essential oils of T. ammi. The oil also showed, complete inhibition of spore germination at a concentration of 2 µl/mL. In addition, T. ammi oil showed significant antiaflatoxigenic potency by totally inhibiting aflatoxin production from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus at 0.5 and 0.75 µl/mL, respectively. Cymbopogon martinii, Foeniculum vulgare and T. ammi oils as antifungal were found superior over synthetic preservative. Moreover, a concentration of 5 336.297 µl/kg body weight was recorded for LC50 on mice indicating the low mammalian toxicity and strengthening its traditional reputations.Conclusions:In conclusion, the essential oils from T. ammi can be a potential source of safe natural food preservative for food commodities contamination by storage fungi.

  1. Aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus nomius ASR3, a pathogen isolated from the leaf-cutter ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Afonso da Silva-Junior

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Aspergillus spp. cause economic impacts due to aflatoxins production. Although the toxicity of aflatoxins is already known, little information about their ecological roles is available. Here we investigated the compounds produced by Aspergillus nomius ASR3 directly from a dead leaf-cutter queen ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa and the fungal axenic culture. Chemical analyses were carried out by high-resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry techniques. Aflatoxins B1 and G1 were detected in both the axenic culture and in the dead leaf-cutter queen ant. The presence of these mycotoxins in the dead leaf-cutter queen ant suggests that these compounds can be related to the insect pathogenicity of A. nomius against A. sexdens rubropilosa.

  2. Evaluation of MIC Strip Isavuconazole test for susceptibility testing of wild-type and non-wild-type Aspergillus fumigatus isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, Maiken Cavling; Verweij, Paul; Nielsen, Henrik Vedel

    2017-01-01

    We evaluated the MIC Strip Isavuconazole test against EUCAST E.Def 9.3 by using 40 wild-type and 39 CYP51A mutant Aspergillus fumigatus strains. The strip full inhibition endpoint (FIE) and 80% growth inhibition endpoint were determined by two independent readers, reader 1 (R1) and R2. The essent......We evaluated the MIC Strip Isavuconazole test against EUCAST E.Def 9.3 by using 40 wild-type and 39 CYP51A mutant Aspergillus fumigatus strains. The strip full inhibition endpoint (FIE) and 80% growth inhibition endpoint were determined by two independent readers, reader 1 (R1) and R2...

  3. Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Caspofungin Susceptibility Testing of Candida and Aspergillus Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Carolis, Elena; Vella, Antonietta; Florio, Ada R.; Posteraro, Patrizia; Perlin, David S.; Posteraro, Brunella

    2012-01-01

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was evaluated for testing susceptibility to caspofungin of wild-type and fks mutant isolates of Candida and Aspergillus. Complete essential agreement was observed with the CLSI reference method, with categorical agreement for 94.1% of the Candida isolates tested. Thus, MALDI-TOF MS is a reliable and accurate method to detect fungal isolates with reduced caspofungin susceptibility. PMID:22535984

  4. Performance of Aspergillus PCR in cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of cerebral aspergillosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imbert, S; Brossas, J-Y; Palous, M; Joly, I; Meyer, I; Fekkar, A

    2017-11-01

    Cerebral aspergillosis is a rare but often fatal form of invasive aspergillosis that remains difficult to diagnose. The literature has shown the value of Aspergillus PCR in blood-derived samples for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis but provides far less information for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cerebral aspergillosis. Here, we evaluated the usefulness of an Aspergillus PCR assay performed on CSF for the diagnosis of cerebral aspergillosis. This retrospective study involved 72 patients with suspected cerebral aspergillosis for a total of 88 CSF samples in whom CSF Aspergillus PCR was performed. Seventeen patients had proven/probable invasive aspergillosis according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group criteria, including 12 cases of proven/probable cerebral aspergillosis. Aspergillus PCR in CSF was positive in nine of the twelve patients with cerebral aspergillosis, i.e. 75% sensitivity. In contrast, CSF culture was positive for Aspergillus in only two patients. In the non-cerebral aspergillosis group (60 patients), PCR was positive in one patient, i.e. 98.3% specificity. In this particular population of high-risk patients with suspicion of cerebral aspergillosis, the disease incidence was 16.7%. Therefore, the positive and negative predictive values of PCR were 90% and 95.2%, respectively. The results of this study indicate that Aspergillus PCR in CSF is an interesting tool that may eliminate the need for cerebral biopsy in patients with suspected cerebral aspergillosis. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Isolation and antibiogram of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Escherichia coli isolates from clinical and subclinical cases of bovine mastitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nihar Nalini Mohanty,

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The present study was aimed to isolate and evaluate the continuous change in the pattern of drug resistance showed by different mastitogenic organisms, isolated from clinical and subclinical cases of mastitis.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out using 150 milk samples received from various clinical and subclinical cases, from which the causative organisms were isolated and subjected to in vitro antibiotic sensitivity test.Results: The bacteriological analysis of the samples indicated the presence of both Gram positive and Gram negative organisms followed by isolation of isolates like Staphylococcus, E. coli, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Listeria, Klebsiella. The in vitro sensitivity of Staphylococcus, E. coli and Streptococcus isolates revealed that they were more sensitive towards newer antimicrobials like Levofloxacin and Enrofloxacin.Conclusion: The prevalence of Staphylococcus was found to be maximum followed by Streptococcus and E. coli among the isolated organisms. Levofloxacin and Enrofloxacin were found to be most effective against the targeted isolates.

  6. Antibiotic resistance and virulence traits in clinical and environmental Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathnayake, I U; Hargreaves, M; Huygens, F

    2012-07-01

    This study compared virulence and antibiotic resistance traits in clinical and environmental Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates. E. faecalis isolates harboured a broader spectrum of virulence determinants compared to E. faecium isolates. The virulence traits Cyl-A, Cyl-B, Cyl-M, gel-E, esp and acm were tested and environmental isolates predominantly harboured gel-E (80% of E. faecalis and 31.9% of E. faecium) whereas esp was more prevalent in clinical isolates (67.8% of E. faecalis and 70.4% of E. faecium). E. faecalis and E. faecium isolated from water had different antibiotic resistance patterns compared to those isolated from clinical samples. Linezolid resistance was not observed in any isolates tested and vancomycin resistance was observed only in clinical isolates. Resistance to other antibiotics (tetracycline, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and ampicillin) was detected in both clinical and water isolates. Clinical isolates were more resistant to all the antibiotics tested compared to water isolates. Multi-drug resistance was more prevalent in clinical isolates (71.2% of E. faecalis and 70.3% of E. faecium) compared to water isolates (only 5.7% E. faecium). tet L and tet M genes were predominantly identified in tetracycline-resistant isolates. All water and clinical isolates resistant to ciprofloxacin and ampicillin contained mutations in the gyrA, parC and pbp5 genes. A significant correlation was found between the presence of virulence determinants and antibiotic resistance in all the isolates tested in this study (pantibiotic resistant enterococci, together with associated virulence traits, in surface recreational water could be a public health risk. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  7. Isolation of lipase producing fungi from palm oil Mill effluent (POME dump sites at Nsukka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Ogugua Nwuche

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available In this study, twelve fungal lipase producing strains belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma and Mucor genera were isolated from palm oil mill effluent composts. The Aspergillus spp. were more frequent (42% and was present in all the samples assayed. Mucor sp. was the least encountered (8.3%.The lipase producing profile showed that Trichoderma (8.07-8.24 u/mL and Aspergillus (6.25 -7.54 u/mL spp. were the highest lipase producers while Mucor (5.72 u/mL was the least.

  8. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction by Aspergillus terreus isolated from the seasonal oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stief, Peter; Fuchs-Ocklenburg, Silvia; Kamp, Anja; Manohar, Cathrine-Sumathi; Houbraken, Jos; Boekhout, Teun; de Beer, Dirk; Stoeck, Thorsten

    2014-02-11

    A wealth of microbial eukaryotes is adapted to life in oxygen-deficient marine environments. Evidence is accumulating that some of these eukaryotes survive anoxia by employing dissimilatory nitrate reduction, a strategy that otherwise is widespread in prokaryotes. Here, we report on the anaerobic nitrate metabolism of the fungus Aspergillus terreus (isolate An-4) that was obtained from sediment in the seasonal oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea, a globally important site of oceanic nitrogen loss and nitrous oxide emission. Axenic incubations of An-4 in the presence and absence of oxygen and nitrate revealed that this fungal isolate is capable of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium under anoxic conditions. A ¹⁵N-labeling experiment proved that An-4 produced and excreted ammonium through nitrate reduction at a rate of up to 175 nmol ¹⁵NH₄⁺ g⁻¹ protein h⁻¹. The products of dissimilatory nitrate reduction were ammonium (83%), nitrous oxide (15.5%), and nitrite (1.5%), while dinitrogen production was not observed. The process led to substantial cellular ATP production and biomass growth and also occurred when ammonium was added to suppress nitrate assimilation, stressing the dissimilatory nature of nitrate reduction. Interestingly, An-4 used intracellular nitrate stores (up to 6-8 μmol NO₃⁻ g⁻¹ protein) for dissimilatory nitrate reduction. Our findings expand the short list of microbial eukaryotes that store nitrate intracellularly and carry out dissimilatory nitrate reduction when oxygen is absent. In the currently spreading oxygen-deficient zones in the ocean, an as yet unexplored diversity of fungi may recycle nitrate to ammonium and nitrite, the substrates of the major nitrogen loss process anaerobic ammonium oxidation, and the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.

  9. Aspergillus Osteomyelitis of the Skull.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Simon; King, Richard; Chumas, Paul; Russell, John; Liddington, Mark

    2016-07-01

    Osteomyelitis of the craniofacial skeleton is rare, with fungal pathogens least commonly implicated. The authors present 2 patients of osteomyelitis of the skull caused by Aspergillus spp. and discuss the diagnosis, clinicopathological course, and management strategies.Late recurrence seen in this type of infection warrants long-term follow-up and a high index of suspicion for the clinical signs associated with recurrence.Such patients would benefit from their surgical debridement being planned and managed via a specialist craniofacial unit, so as to utilize the most aesthetically sensitive approach and the experience of specialists from several surgical disciplines.

  10. Ribotyping for differentiating Flavobacterium meningosepticum isolates from clinical and environmental sources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Colding, H; Bangsborg, J; Fiehn, N E

    1994-01-01

    RI), a discriminatory index of 0.95 to 0.97 was found. The value of ribotyping in an epidemiological setting was assessed for three clinical isolates of F. meningosepticum from an outbreak of meningitis and bacteremia in the neonatal intensive care unit, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. The three clinical isolates...

  11. Proteome analysis of Aspergillus flavus isolate-specific responses to oxidative stress in relationship to aflatoxin production capability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic pathogen that infects host plants such as maize and peanut under conducive conditions such as drought stress resulting in significant aflatoxin production. Drought-associated oxidative stress is known to exacerbate aflatoxin production by A. flavus. The object...

  12. Proteomic analysis of temperature dependent extracellular proteins from Aspergillus fumigatus grown under solid-state culture condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adav, Sunil S; Ravindran, Anita; Sze, Siu Kwan

    2013-06-07

    Fungal species of the genus Aspergillus are filamentous ubiquitous saprophytes that play a major role in lignocellulosic biomass recycling and also are considered as cell factories for the production of organic acids, pharmaceuticals, and industrially important enzymes. Analysis of extracellular secreted biomass degrading enzymes using complex lignocellulosic biomass as a substrate by solid-state fermentation could be a more practical approach to evaluate application of the enzymes for lignocellulosic biorefinery. This study isolated a fungal strain from compost, identified as Aspergillus fumigatus, and further analyzed it for lignocellulolytic enzymes at different temperatures using label free quantitative proteomics. The profile of secretome composition discovered cellulases, hemicellulases, lignin degrading proteins, peptidases and proteases, and transport and hypothetical proteins; while protein abundances and further their hierarchical clustering analysis revealed temperature dependent expression of these enzymes during solid-state fermentation of sawdust. The enzyme activities and protein abundances as determined by exponentially modified protein abundance index (emPAI) indicated the maximum activities at the range of 40-50 °C, demonstrating the thermophilic nature of the isolate A. fumigatus LF9. Characterization of the thermostability of secretome suggested the potential of the isolated fungal strain in the production of thermophilic biomass degrading enzymes for industrial application.

  13. A survey of xerophilic Aspergillus from indoor environment, including descriptions of two new section Aspergillus species producing eurotium-like sexual states

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Visagie, Cobus M.; Yilmaz, Neriman; Renaud, Justin B.

    2017-01-01

    of 1039 strains; 296 strains belong to Aspergillus and represented 37 species. Reference sequences were generated for all species and deposited in GenBank. Aspergillus sect. Aspergillus (formerly called Eurotium) was one of the most predominant groups from house dust with nine species identified...

  14. Human T-cell responses to Aspergillus fumigatus : In healthy individuals and patients with Aspergillus-related disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jolink, H.

    2017-01-01

    The T-cell mediated immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus was studied in healthy individuals and in several patient groups. In peripheral blood of healthy individuals low frequencies of Aspergillus-specific CD4+ T-cells with a Thelper 1 profile were present. In patients with invasive

  15. Mycogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles by the Japanese environmental isolate Aspergillus tamarii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rajesh Kumar, Ramasamy; Poornima Priyadharsani, Krishnamurthy; Thamaraiselvi, Kaliannan, E-mail: kthamaraiselvi@hotmail.com [Bharathidasan University, Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Bioremediation and Nanobiotechnology, Department of Environmental Biotechnology (India)

    2012-05-15

    In this study, an environmental friendly process for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using a fungus Aspergillus tamarii has been investigated. The process of silver ion reduction by the fungal extracellular filtrate was spontaneous which lead to the development of an easy process for synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The AgNPs formed were characterized using UV-Visible spectrum, FTIR, and SEM. The results revealed that silver ions reduction by the fungal extracellular filtrate started at 420 nm after 0.5 h of incubation time. The FTIR peaks were observed at 1393, 1820, 2727, and 3545 cm{sup -1}. The SEM result showed the distribution of spherical AgNPs ranging from 25 to 50 nm.

  16. High fungal spore burden with predominance of Aspergillus in hospital air of a tertiary care hospital in Chandigarh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S M Rudramurthy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of fungal spores in the hospital air is essential to understand the hospital-acquired fungal infections. Air conditioners (ACs used in hospitals may either reduce spores in air or be colonised by fungi and aid in its dissemination. The present study was conducted to assess the fungal spore burden in AC and non-AC areas. We found a high fungal spore count in air irrespective of whether the area was AC or non-AC. The most predominant species isolated were Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus. Such high concentrations of pathogenic fungi in air may predispose individuals to develop disease.

  17. Mycological survey of Korean cereals and production of mycotoxins by Fusarium isolates.

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, U S; Jang, H S; Tanaka, T; Toyasaki, N; Sugiura, Y; Oh, Y J; Cho, C M; Ueno, Y

    1986-01-01

    The fungal species isolated from Korean cereals (barley, polished barley, wheat, rye, and malt) were Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Chaetomium spp., Drechslera spp., Epicoccum sp., Fusarium spp., and Penicillium spp., etc. The number of Fusarium strains isolated was 36, and their ability to produce Fusarium mycotoxins on rice was tested. Nivalenol (NIV) was produced by Fusarium graminearum (7 of 9 isolates), Fusarium oxysporum (3 of 10 isolates), and Fusarium spp. (7 of 15 isolates). Of 1...

  18. Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Geographically Diverse Clinical Human Isolates of Leptospira▿

    OpenAIRE

    Ressner, Roseanne A.; Griffith, Matthew E.; Beckius, Miriam L.; Pimentel, Guillermo; Miller, R. Scott; Mende, Katrin; Fraser, Susan L.; Galloway, Renee L.; Hospenthal, Duane R.; Murray, Clinton K.

    2008-01-01

    Although antimicrobial therapy of leptospirosis has been studied in a few randomized controlled clinical studies, those studies were limited to specific regions of the world and few have characterized infecting strains. A broth microdilution technique for the assessment of antibiotic susceptibility has been developed at Brooke Army Medical Center. In the present study, we assessed the susceptibilities of 13 Leptospira isolates (including recent clinical isolates) from Egypt, Thailand, Nicarag...

  19. Aspergillus tracheobronchitis in a mild immunocompromised host.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Byung Ha; Oh, Youngmin; Kang, Eun Seok; Hong, Yong Joo; Jeong, Hye Won; Lee, Ok-Jun; Chang, You-Jin; Choe, Kang Hyeon; Lee, Ki Man; An, Jin-Young

    2014-11-01

    Aspergillus tracheobronchitis is a form of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in which the Aspergillus infection is limited predominantly to the tracheobronchial tree. It occurs primarily in severely immunocompromised patients such as lung transplant recipients. Here, we report a case of Aspergillus tracheobronchitis in a 42-year-old man with diabetes mellitus, who presented with intractable cough, lack of expectoration of sputum, and chest discomfort. The patient did not respond to conventional treatment with antibiotics and antitussive agents, and he underwent bronchoscopy that showed multiple, discrete, gelatinous whitish plaques mainly involving the trachea and the left bronchus. On the basis of the bronchoscopic and microbiologic findings, we made the diagnosis of Aspergillus tracheobronchitis and initiated antifungal therapy. He showed gradual improvement in his symptoms and continued taking oral itraconazole for 6 months. Physicians should consider Aspergillus tracheobronchitis as a probable diagnosis in immunocompromised patients presenting with atypical respiratory symptoms and should try to establish a prompt diagnosis.

  20. Methylthio-Aspochalasins from a Marine-Derived Fungus Aspergillus sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Liu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Two novel aspochalasins, 20-β-methylthio-aspochalsin Q (named as aspochalasin V, (1 and aspochalasin W (2, were isolated from culture broth of Aspergillus sp., which was found in the gut of a marine isopod Ligia oceanica. The structures were determined on the basis of NMR and mass spectral data analysis. This is the first report about methylthio-substituted aspochalasin derivatives. Cytotoxicity against the prostate cancer PC3 cell line and HCT116 cell line was assayed using the MTT method. Apochalasin V showed moderate activity at IC50 values of 30.4 and 39.2 μM, respectively.

  1. Characterization of Aspergillus species on Brazil nut from the Brazilian Amazonian region and development of a PCR assay for identification at the genus level

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Brazil nut is a protein-rich extractivist tree crop in the Amazon region. Fungal contamination of shells and kernel material frequently includes the presence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species from the section Flavi. Aflatoxins are polyketide secondary metabolites, which are hepatotoxic carcinogens in mammals. The objectives of this study were to identify Aspergillus species occurring on Brazil nut grown in different states in the Brazilian Amazon region and develop a specific PCR method for collective identification of member species of the genus Aspergillus. Results Polyphasic identification of 137 Aspergillus strains isolated from Brazil nut shell material from cooperatives across the Brazilian Amazon states of Acre, Amapá and Amazonas revealed five species, with Aspergillus section Flavi species A. nomius and A. flavus the most abundant. PCR primers ASP_GEN_MTSSU_F1 and ASP_GEN_MTSSU_R1 were designed for the genus Aspergillus, targeting a portion of the mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. Primer specificity was validated through both electronic PCR against target gene sequences at Genbank and in PCR reactions against DNA from Aspergillus species and other fungal genera common on Brazil nut. Collective differentiation of the observed section Flavi species A. flavus, A. nomius and A. tamarii from other Aspergillus species was possible on the basis of RFLP polymorphism. Conclusions Given the abundance of Aspergillus section Flavi species A. nomius and A. flavus observed on Brazil nut, and associated risk of mycotoxin accumulation, simple identification methods for such mycotoxigenic species are of importance for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system implementation. The assay for the genus Aspergillus represents progress towards specific PCR identification and detection of mycotoxigenic species. PMID:24885088

  2. High prevalence of clinical and environmental triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Iran: is it a challenging issue?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabili, Mojtaba; Shokohi, Tahereh; Moazeni, Maryam; Khodavaisy, Sadegh; Aliyali, Masoud; Badiee, Parisa; Zarrinfar, Hossein; Hagen, Ferry; Badali, Hamid

    2016-06-01

    Triazole antifungal agents are the mainstay of aspergillosis treatment. As highlighted in numerous studies, the global increase in the prevalence of triazole resistance could hamper the management of aspergillosis. In the present three-year study, 513 samples (213 clinical and 300 environmental samples) from 10 provinces of Iran were processed and screened in terms of azole resistance (4 and 1 mg l-1 of itraconazole and voriconazole, respectively), using selective plates. Overall, 150 A. fumigatus isolates (71 clinical and 79 environmental isolates) were detected. The isolates were confirmed by partial sequencing of the β-tubulin gene. Afterwards, in vitro antifungal susceptibility tests against triazole agents were performed, based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38-A2 document. The CYP51A gene was sequenced in order to detect mutations. The MIC of itraconazole against 10 (6.6 %) strains, including clinical (n=3, 4.2 %) and environmental (n=7, 8.8 %) strains, was higher than the breakpoint and epidemiological cut-off value. Based on the findings, the prevalence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus in Iran has increased remarkablyfrom 3.3 % to 6.6 % in comparison with earlier epidemiological research. Among resistant isolates, TR34/L98H mutations in the CYP51A gene were the most prevalent (n=8, 80 %), whereas other point mutations (F46Y, G54W, Y121F, G138C, M172V, F219C, M220I, D255E, T289F, G432C and G448S mutations) were not detected. Although the number of patients affected by azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolates was limited, strict supervision of clinical azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolates and persistent environmental screening of azole resistance are vital to the development of approaches for the management of azole resistance in human pathogenic fungi.

  3. Genetic diversity of clinical isolates of Bacillus cereus using multilocus sequence typing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pruckler James M

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bacillus cereus is most commonly associated with foodborne illness (diarrheal and emetic but is also an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe and fatal infections. Several multilocus sequence typing (MLST schemes have recently been developed to genotype B. cereus and analysis has suggested a clonal or weakly clonal population structure for B. cereus and its close relatives B. anthracis and B. thuringiensis. In this study we used MLST to determine if B. cereus isolates associated with illnesses of varying severity (e.g., severe, systemic vs. gastrointestinal (GI illness were clonal or formed clonal complexes. Results A retrospective analysis of 55 clinical B. cereus isolates submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1954 and 2004 was conducted. Clinical isolates from severe infections (n = 27, gastrointestinal (GI illness (n = 18, and associated isolates from food (n = 10 were selected for analysis using MLST. The 55 isolates were diverse and comprised 38 sequence types (ST in two distinct clades. Of the 27 isolates associated with serious illness, 13 clustered in clade 1 while 14 were in clade 2. Isolates associated with GI illness were also found throughout clades 1 and 2, while no isolates in this study belonged to clade 3. All the isolates from this study belonging to the clade 1/cereus III lineage were associated with severe disease while isolates belonging to clade1/cereus II contained isolates primarily associated with severe disease and emetic illness. Only three STs were observed more than once for epidemiologically distinct isolates. Conclusion STs of clinical B. cereus isolates were phylogenetically diverse and distributed among two of three previously described clades. Greater numbers of strains will need to be analyzed to confirm if specific lineages or clonal complexes are more likely to contain clinical isolates or be associated with specific illness, similar to B. anthracis and

  4. Variability in Galactomannan detection by platelia Aspergillus EIA™ according to the Aspergillus species Variabilidade na detecção de galactomanana pelo Platelia Aspergillus EIA® de acordo com a espécie de Aspergillus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Orzechowski Xavier

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Here we investigate the extent to which different Aspergillus species release galactomannan (GM in vitro. Marked variability was observed in GM reactivity between and within Aspergillus species, with A. terreus strains showing the highest GM indexes. The in vivo significance of these findings remains to be determined.O estudo objetivou investigar a liberação in vitro de galactomanana (GM em distintas espécies patogênicas de fungos do gênero Aspergillus. Grande variabilidade foi detectada tanto intra quanto inter espécies, sendo as cepas da espécie A. terreus relacionadas aos maiores índices de GM detectados. O significado in vivo destes achados permanece em aberto, porém merece investigação.

  5. Radiation resistance of some microorganisms isolated from irradiated herbs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Bazza, Z.E.; Shihab, A.; Farrag, H.A.; El-Sayed, Z.G.; Mahmoud, M.I.

    1997-01-01

    Three types of Egyptian medicinal herbs, sweet marjoram, spearmint and thyme were used in this study. The tested herbs were exposed to gamma radiation doses ranging from 1.0 to 10,0 kGy. The sublethal doses of radioresistant molds ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 kGy and the sublethal doses of radioresistant bacteria ranged from 7.0 to 8.0 kGy. The radioresistant molds isolated from sweet marjoram and spearmint herbs were identified as Aspergillus, whereas that isolated from thyme was identified as Aspergillus ochraceus. The radioresistant bacteria isolated from sweet marjoram, spearmint and thyme were identified as Bacillus megaterium, B.pantothenticus and B. brevis, respectively. All the radioresistant molds exhibited an exponential response. The D 15 v alue of Asp. ochraceus was 0.33 kGy, while that of Asp. niger were 0.45 and 0.5 kGy, respectively. All the bacterial species exhibited non-exponential response. The D 10 -values for B.megaterium, B. pantothenticus and B. brevis were found to be 2.58, 3.0 and 1.63 kGy, respectively

  6. Antibiotic Extraction as a Recent Biocontrol Method for Aspergillus Niger andAspergillus Flavus Fungi in Ancient Egyptian mural paintings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemdan, R. Elmitwalli; Fatma, Helmi M.; Rizk, Mohammed A.; Hagrassy, Abeer F.

    Biodeterioration of mural paintings by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus Fungi has been proved in different mural paintings in Egypt nowadays. Several researches have studied the effect of fungi on mural paintings, the mechanism of interaction and methods of control. But none of these researches gives us the solution without causing a side effect. In this paper, for the first time, a recent treatment by antibiotic "6 penthyl α pyrone phenol" was applied as a successful technique for elimination of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. On the other hand, it is favorable for cleaning Surfaces of Murals executed by tembera technique from the fungi metabolism which caused a black pigments on surfaces.

  7. In Vitro Antifungal Susceptibility of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum Clinical Isolates from Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Jasper Elvin; Santhanam, Jacinta; Lee, Mei Chen; Wong, Choon Xian; Sabaratnam, Parameswari; Yusoff, Hamidah; Tzar, Mohd Nizam; Razak, Mohd Fuat Abdul

    2017-04-01

    Neoscytalidium dimidiatum is an opportunistic fungus causing cutaneous infections mostly, which are difficult to treat due to antifungal resistance. In Malaysia, N. dimidiatum is associated with skin and nail infections, especially in the elderly. These infections may be mistaken for dermatophyte infections due to similar clinical appearance. In this study, Neoscytalidium isolates from cutaneous specimens, identified using morphological and molecular methods (28 Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and 1 Neoscytalidium sp.), were evaluated for susceptibility towards antifungal agents using the CLSI broth microdilution (M38-A2) and Etest methods. Amphotericin B, voriconazole, miconazole and clotrimazole showed high in vitro activity against all isolates with MIC ranging from 0.0313 to 1 µg/mL. Susceptibility towards fluconazole and itraconazole was noted in up to 10% of isolates, while ketoconazole was inactive against all isolates. Clinical breakpoints for antifungal drugs are not yet available for most filamentous fungi, including Neoscytalidium species. However, the results indicate that clinical isolates of N. dimidiatum in Malaysia were sensitive towards miconazole, clotrimazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B, in vitro.

  8. Molecular identification of clinical Nocardia isolates from India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudramurthy, Shivaprakash M; Honnavar, Prasanna; Kaur, Harsimran; Samanta, Palash; Ray, Pallab; Ghosh, Anup; Chakrabarti, Arunaloke

    2015-10-01

    The epidemiology of nocardiosis is evolving with increasing number of Nocardia spp. causing human infection. In recent years, molecular techniques have been used to identify Nocardia spp. There are limited data available on the spectrum of Nocardia spp. isolated from clinical samples in India. Here, a molecular study was carried on 30 clinical isolates maintained in our National Culture Collection to evaluate the techniques used for identifying the agents. The isolates were identified by sequencing two promising genes: the 16S rRNA gene and hsp65. Both hsp65 and the 16S rRNA gene could reliably identify 90 % of Nocardia isolates, i.e. N. farcinica, N. cyriacigeorgica, N. brasiliensis, N. otitidiscaviarum, N. amamiensis and N. pneumoniae. The mean percentage dissimilarity of sequence identification was higher using the hsp65 gene (4 %, range 0-7.9 %) compared with the 16S rRNA gene (2.3 %, range 0-8.9 %). Two isolates that showed ambiguous results in both the short segment of the 16S rRNA gene and hsp65 sequences could be resolved by sequencing a larger fragment (∼1000 bp) of the 16S rRNA gene. Both of these isolates were identified as N. beijingensis with similarities of 99.8 and 100 % compared with the standard strain. Genotyping of N. cyriacigeorgica strains was performed using hsp65 gene sequences and compared with previously described genotypes. Our N. cyriacigeorgica isolates belonged to genotype 1 (n = 4) and genotype 2 (n = 2). The present study highlights a wide spectrum of Nocardia spp. in India and emphasizes the need for molecular techniques for identification to the species level.

  9. Production of cellulases by fungal cultures isolated from forest litter soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Sri Lakshmi

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this study were the isolation and screening of fungal cultures from forest litter soil for cellulases production. In the present study, four fungal cultures were isolated and identified. Among these fungal cultures, three belonged to the genus Aspergillus and one belonged to the genus Pencillium. These fungal cultures were tested to find their ability to produce cellulases, that catalyze the degradation of cellulose, which is a linear polymer made of glucose subunits linked by beta-1, 4 glycosidic bonds. The fungal isolate 3 (Aspergillus sp. was noticed to show maximum zone of hydrolysis of carboxy-methyl cellulose and produce higher titers of cellulases including exoglucanase, endoglucanase and beta -D-glucosidase. The activities of the cellulases were determined by Filter paper assay (FPA, Carboxy-methly cellulase assay (CMCase and beta -D-glucosidase assay respectively. The total soluble sugar and extracellular protein contents of the fungal filtrates were also determined.

  10. Acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis triggered by Aspergillus empyema

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsushi Suzuki

    Full Text Available Acute exacerbation (AE is a severe and life-threatening complication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF. In 2016, the definition and diagnostic criteria for AE-IPF were updated by an international working group. The new definition includes any acute, clinically significant respiratory deterioration (both idiopathic and triggered events characterized by evidence of new widespread alveolar abnormality in patients with IPF. There are no currently proven beneficial management strategies for idiopathic and triggered AE-IPF. This is the first report describing AE-IPF triggered by Aspergillus empyema, which was improved by a combination of corticosteroid, systemic antifungal therapy, local antifungal therapy, and additional pharmacological therapies. Future research may reveal optimal strategies for both idiopathic and triggered AE-IPF. Keywords: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Acute exacerbation, AE-IPF, Triggered AE, Aspergillus infection

  11. Allergens/Antigens, toxins and polyketides of important Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhetariya, Preetida J; Madan, Taruna; Basir, Seemi Farhat; Varma, Anupam; Usha, Sarma P

    2011-04-01

    The medical, agricultural and biotechnological importance of the primitive eukaryotic microorganisms, the Fungi was recognized way back in 1920. Among various groups of fungi, the Aspergillus species are studied in great detail using advances in genomics and proteomics to unravel biological and molecular mechanisms in these fungi. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus terreus are some of the important species relevant to human, agricultural and biotechnological applications. The potential of Aspergillus species to produce highly diversified complex biomolecules such as multifunctional proteins (allergens, antigens, enzymes) and polyketides is fascinating and demands greater insight into the understanding of these fungal species for application to human health. Recently a regulator gene for secondary metabolites, LaeA has been identified. Gene mining based on LaeA has facilitated new metabolites with antimicrobial activity such as emericellamides and antitumor activity such as terrequinone A from A. nidulans. Immunoproteomic approach was reported for identification of few novel allergens for A. fumigatus. In this context, the review is focused on recent developments in allergens, antigens, structural and functional diversity of the polyketide synthases that produce polyketides of pharmaceutical and biological importance. Possible antifungal drug targets for development of effective antifungal drugs and new strategies for development of molecular diagnostics are considered.

  12. Antimicrobial Effect of Bacteriocin produced Pediococcus pentosaceus on some clinical isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nehad A. Taher

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available About 10 isolates of Pediococcus sp were isolated from different cheese made in Iraq, These isolates were identified morphologically and biochemically and Api20 kit, thus there was only 6 isolate were identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus (60%.In this study, we investigate, the effect of crude Bacteriocin from Pediococcus pentosaceus on 30 clinical isolates (5 E.coli, 5 Klepsiella pneumoniae, 5 Staphylococcus aureus, 5 Pseudomonas aeroginosa, 5 Bacillus subtilis, 5 Candida albicans. The protein concentration of this Bacteriocin was measured 67mg\\ml by Bradford method and used as (1:2 by vol during the measuring the antimicrobial activity against the above clinical isolates by two methods wells and  agar plug assay. The results showed that  the inhibitory activity of this Bacteriocin was higher by wells method than agar pluq assay against Gram–positive bacteria or Gram-negative bacteria and yeast under this study.

  13. The molecular and genetic basis of conidial pigmentation in Aspergillus niger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Thomas R.; Park, Joohae; Arentshorst, Mark

    2011-01-01

    A characteristic hallmark of Aspergillus niger is the formation of black conidiospores. We have identified four loci involved in spore pigmentation of A. niger by using a combined genomic and classical complementation approach. First, we characterized a newly isolated color mutant, colA, which......-γ-pyrone subclass of polyketides were specifically dependent on fwnA, and funalenone on fwnA, olvA and brnA. Thus, secondary metabolite profiling of the color mutants revealed a close relationship between polyketide synthesis and conidial pigmentation in A. niger....

  14. Biomarkers of Aspergillus spores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulc, Miroslav; Peslova, Katerina; Zabka, Martin; Hajduch, Marian; Havlicek, Vladimir

    2009-02-01

    We applied both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometric and 1D sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic (1D-PAGE) approaches for direct analysis of intact fungal spores of twenty four Aspergillus species. In parallel, we optimized various protocols for protein extraction from Aspergillus spores using acidic conditions, step organic gradient and variable sonication treatment. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra obtained from optimally prepared samples provided a reproducible fingerprint demonstrating the capability of the MALDI-TOF approach to type and characterize different fungal strains within the Aspergillus genus. Mass spectra of intact fungal spores provided signals mostly below 20 kDa. The minimum material amount represented 0.3 [mu]g (10,000 spores). Proteins with higher molecular weight were detected by 1D-PAGEE Eleven proteins were identified from three selected strains in the range 5-25 kDa by the proteomic approach. Hemolysin and hydrophobin have the highest relevance in host-pathogen interactions.

  15. Biodegradation of Bonnylight crude oil by locally isolated fungi from oil contaminated soils in Akure, Ondo state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ekundayo, F.O.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: This present investigation was conducted to determine the capability of fungi isolated from soil samples collected from two automobile workshopsto bioremediate Bonnylight crude oil.Methodology and Results: The fungi present on the soil samples collected from two automobile workshops in Akure, Nigeria were investigated using standard microbiological techniques. These fungal isolates were screened for the ability to degrade Bonnylight crude oil. The bioremediation of Bonnylight crude oil was observed spectrophotometrically using the broth culture (non- harvested cells and harvested cells of the fungi isolated from the contaminated sites for a period of 20 days on minimal salt broth. Mycotypha microspora, Penicllium italicum, Botryris cinerea, Gliocladium deliquescence, Verticillium albo–atrum and Aspergillus niger were isolated from the contaminated site while Neurospora crassa, A. parasiticus, A. niger and Gonatobotryum apiculatum were isolated from uncontaminated sites. All the fungal isolates were capable of active degradation in varying degrees.Conclusion: The study shows that all the isolated fungi were capable of degrading the crude oil in varying degrees. The active crude oil utilizing fungi in this study were Aspergillus niger (both harvested and non harvested cells and Gliocladium deliquescence (non harvested cells and Penicillium italicum (harvested cells. Aspergillus niger has best degrading ability than other fungi in non harvested and harvested cell condition. However, non harvested cells recorded the higher degradative ability than harvested cells. Therefore, non harvested cells can be employed in bioremediation of Bonnylight crude oil.Significance and Impact of Study: The fungi isolated from automobile mechanic workshops contaminated soil can be exploited in the bioremediation of Bonny Light crude oil.

  16. Use of cell surface protein typing for genotyping of azole-resistant and -susceptible Aspergillus fumigatus isolates in Iran

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Falahatinejad, M.; Vaezi, A.; Fakhim, H.; Abastabar, M.; Shokohi, T.; Zahedi, N.; Ansari, S.; Meis, J.F.G.M.; Badali, H.

    2018-01-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus is the leading cause of mortality in severely immunocompromised individuals. Understanding pathogen dispersion and relatedness is essential for determining the epidemiology of nosocomial infections. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the diversity and putative

  17. Two novel aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus species from Argentinean peanuts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pildain, M.B.; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Vaamonde, G.

    2008-01-01

    Two novel species from Aspergillus section Flavi from different species of Arachis (peanuts) in Argentina are described as Aspergillus arachidicola sp. nov. and Aspergillus minisclerotigenes sp. nov. Their novel taxonomic status was determined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach with phenotypic...

  18. Optimization of production of anti-tumor l-asparaginase by free and immobilized marine Aspergillus terreus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aida M. Farag

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available l-asparaginase plays a vital role in medical application, particularly in treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as an effective anti-tumor agent. In the present study, twenty-one fungal strains were isolated from marine environment of the Red Sea coasts of Egypt. Screening for fungal l-asparaginase production was done, and only five fungal strains were selected and identified as Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium. The most potent fungal isolate was Aspergillus terreus which yielded the highest l-asparaginase specific activity (4.81 U/mg protein. The highest enzyme productivity was observed on the 5th day and the optimized fermentation parameters were pH 6.0, temperature 35 °C. The yield was also high up on using dextrose and asparagine (8.26 U/mg protein as carbon and nitrogen sources. The cultural conditions were studied using the Plackett–Burman experimental design. Immobilization using A. terreus adsorbed on sponge enhanced the enzyme production by 1.33-fold compared to the conventional free-cells. Repeated reuse of the adsorbed cells achieved the maximum enzyme specific activity after three cycles (33.86 U/mg protein.

  19. Metabolomic Tools to Assess the Chemistry and Bioactivity of Endophytic Aspergillus Strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tawfike, Ahmed F; Tate, Rothwelle; Abbott, Gráinne; Young, Louise; Viegelmann, Christina; Schumacher, Marc; Diederich, Marc; Edrada-Ebel, RuAngelie

    2017-10-01

    Endophytic fungi associated with medicinal plants are a potential source of novel chemistry and biology that may find applications as pharmaceutical and agrochemical drugs. In this study, a combination of metabolomics and bioactivity-guided approaches were employed to isolate secondary metabolites with cytotoxicity against cancer cells from an endophytic Aspergillus aculeatus. The endophyte was isolated from the Egyptian medicinal plant Terminalia laxiflora and identified using molecular biological methods. Metabolomics and dereplication studies were accomplished by utilizing the MZmine software coupled with the universal Dictionary of Natural Products database. Metabolic profiling, with aid of multivariate data analysis, was performed at different stages of the growth curve to choose the optimized method suitable for up-scaling. The optimized culture method yielded a crude extract abundant with biologically-active secondary metabolites. Crude extracts were fractionated using different high-throughput chromatographic techniques. Purified compounds were identified by HR-ESI-MS, 1D- and 2D-NMR. This study introduced a new method of dereplication utilizing both high-resolution mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The metabolites were putatively identified by applying a chemotaxonomic filter. We also present a short review on the diverse chemistry of terrestrial endophytic strains of Aspergillus, which has become a part of our dereplication work and this will be of wide interest to those working in this field. © 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

  20. Phylogeny, identification and nomenclature of the genus Aspergillus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Samson, R.A.; Visagie, C.M.; Houbraken, J.

    2014-01-01

    , meaning that a decision had to be made whether to keep Aspergillus as one big genus or to split it into several smaller genera. The International Commission of Penicillium and Aspergillus decided to keep Aspergillus instead of using smaller genera. In this paper, we present the arguments for this decision...... data suggest that together with genera such as Polypaecilum, Phialosimplex, Dichotomomyces and Cristaspora, Aspergillus forms a monophyletic clade closely related to Penicillium. Changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants resulted in the move to one name per species....... We introduce new combinations for accepted species presently lacking an Aspergillus name and provide an updated accepted species list for the genus, now containing 339 species. To add to the scientific value of the list, we include information about living ex-type culture collection numbers and Gen...

  1. Asperpyrone-Type Bis-Naphtho-γ-Pyrones with COX-2-Inhibitory Activities from Marine-Derived Fungus Aspergillus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Wei; Lin, Xiuping; Wang, Jianjiao; Liu, Yonghong; Tao, Huaming; Zhou, Xuefeng

    2016-07-20

    Bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones (BNPs) are an important group of aromatic polyketides derived from fungi, and asperpyrone-type BNPs are produced primarily by Aspergillus species. The fungal strain Aspergillus niger SCSIO Jcsw6F30, isolated from a marine alga, Sargassum sp., and identified according to its morphological traits and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequence, was studied for BNPs secondary metabolisms. After HPLC/MS analysis of crude extract of the fermentation broth, 11 asperpyrone-type BNPs were obtained directly and quickly by chromatographic separation in the extract, and those isolated asperpyrone-type BNPs were structurally identified by NMR and MS analyses. All of the BNPs showed weak cytotoxicities against 10 human tumor cells (IC50 > 30 μM). However, three of them, aurasperone F (3), aurasperone C (6) and asperpyrone A (8), exhibited obvious COX-2-inhibitory activities, with the IC50 values being 11.1, 4.2, and 6.4 μM, respectively. This is the first time the COX-2-inhibitory activities of BNPs have been reported.

  2. A New Sesquiterpenoid Derivative from the Coastal Saline Soil Fungus Aspergillus fumigatus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Desheng Liu

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available A new sesquiterpenoid derivative, named aspergiketone (1, along with seven known compounds (2-8 were isolated from the coastal saline soil fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, and by comparison of experimental and reported data. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was defined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Compound 1 was cytotoxic towards HL-60 and A549 cell lines with IC 50 values of 12.4 and 22.1 μ M , respectively.

  3. The production and activity test of cellulases using bagasse substrate on Aspergillus niger isolated from Clove field, Kare, Madiun

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardhi, Muh. Waskito; Sulistyarsi, Ani; Pujiati

    2017-06-01

    Aspergillus sp is a microorganism which has a high ability to produce cellulase enzymes. In producing Cellulase enzymes requires appropriate concentration and incubation time to obtain optimum enzyme activity. This study aimed to determine the effect of inoculum concentration and incubation time towards production and activity of cellulases from Aspergillus sp substrate bagasse. This research used experiments method; completely randomized design with 2 factorial repeated 2 times. The treatment study include differences inoculum (K) 5% (K1), 15% (K2) 25%, (K3) and incubation time (F) that is 3 days (F1), 6 days (F2), 9 days (F3), 12 days (F4). The data taken from the treatment are glucose reduction and protein levels of crude cellulase enzyme activity that use Nelson Somogyi and Biuret methods. Analysis of variance ANOVA data used two paths with significance level of 5% then continued with LSD test. The results showed that: Fhit>Ftab. Thus, there is effect of inoculum concentrations and incubation time toward activity of crude cellulases of Aspergillus sp. The highest glucose reduction of treatment is K3F4 (concentration of inoculum is 25% with 12 days incubation time) amount 12.834 g / ml and the highest protein content is K3F4 (concentration of inoculum is 25% with with 12 days incubation time) amount 0.740 g / ml.

  4. Isolation and characterisation of theobromine-degrading filamentous fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oduro-Mensah, Daniel; Ocloo, Augustine; Lowor, Sammy T; Bonney, Evelyn Y; Okine, Laud K N A; Adamafio, Naa Ayikailey

    2018-01-01

    Strategies for achieving global food security include identification of alternative feedstock for use as animal feed, to contribute towards efforts at increasing livestock farming. The presence of theobromine in cocoa pod husks, a major agro-waste in cocoa-producing countries, hinders its utilisation for this purpose. Cheap treatment of cocoa pod husks to remove theobromine would allow largescale beneficial use of the millions of metric tonnes generated annually. The aim of this study was to isolate theobromine-degrading filamentous fungi that could serve as bioremediation agents for detheobromination of cocoa pod husks. Filamentous fungi were screened for ability to degrade theobromine. The most promising isolates were characterized with respect to optimal environmental conditions for theobromine degradation. Secretion of theobromine-degrading enzymes by the isolates was investigated. Theobromine degradation was monitored by HPLC. Of fourteen theobromine-degrading isolates collected and identified by rDNA 5.8S and ITS sequences, seven belonged to Aspergillus spp. and six were Talaromyces spp. Based on the extent of theobromine utilization, four isolates; Aspergillus niger, Talaromyces verruculosus and two Talaromyces marneffei, showed the best potential for use as bioagents for detheobromination. First-time evidence was found of the use of xanthine oxidase and theobromine oxidase in degradation of a methylxanthine by fungal isolates. Metabolism of theobromine involved initial demethylation at position 7 to form 3-methylxanthine, or initial oxidation at position 8 to form 3,7-dimethyuric acid. All four isolates degraded theobromine beyond uric acid. The data suggest that the four isolates can be applied to substrates, such as cocoa pod husks, for elimination of theobromine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  5. First case of breakthrough pneumonia due to Aspergillus nomius in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caira, Morena; Posteraro, Brunella; Sanguinetti, Maurizio; de Carolis, Elena; Leone, Giuseppe; Pagano, Livio

    2012-10-01

    We report the first known case of a breakthrough pulmonary infection caused by Aspergillus nomius in an acute myeloid leukemia patient receiving caspofungin therapy. The isolate was identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and sequencing-based methods. The organism was found to be fully susceptible, in vitro, to echinocandin antifungal agents.

  6. Quinolones Resistance And R-Plasmids Of Clinical Isolates Of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: There has been reported incidence in the emergence of. Quinolones resistance in clinical isolates in Nigeria and the level in resistance has been on the increase. Objective: To determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns and plasmids profiles of 67 clinical Pseudomonas species from a teaching hospital ...

  7. Biotransformation of two furanocoumarins by the fungi species Aspergillus sp. PTCC 5266 and Aspergillus niger PTCC 5010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemi, Saba; Habibi, Zohreh; Mohajeri, Maryam; Yousefi, Maryam

    2018-02-22

    The microbial transformations of peucedanin and oreoselon by the fungi Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus sp. were investigated for the first time. Incubation of peucedanin with A. niger yielded a new hydroxylated metabolite with high yield (56%), which was characterized as 2-(1-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-3-methoxy-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one. Oreoselon was converted to a new reduced metabolite methyl 3-(2,3-dihydro-6-hydroxy-2-isopropyl-3-oxobenzofuran-5-yl)propanoate in biotransformation by Aspergillus sp. The structures of the metabolites were determined by spectroscopic methods including IR, EI-MS, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and elemental analysis.

  8. Antibiotic Susceptibilities and Serotyping of Clinical Streptococcus Agalactiae Isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Altay Atalay

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B streptococci, GBS are frequently responsible for sepsis and meningitis seen in the early weeks of life. GBS may cause perinatal infection and premature birth in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to serotype GBS strains isolated from clinical samples and evaluate their serotype distribution according to their susceptibilities to antibiotics and isolation sites. Material and Methods: One hundred thirty one S. agalactiae strains isolated from the clinical samples were included in the study. Of the strains, 99 were isolated from urine, 20 from soft tissue, 10 from blood and 2 from vaginal swab. Penicillin G and ceftriaxone susceptibilities of GBS were determined by the agar dilution method. Susceptibilities to erythromycin, clindamycin, vancomycin and tetracycline were determined by the Kirby-Bauer method according to CLSI criteria. Serotyping was performed using the latex aglutination method using specific antisera (Ia, Ib, II-VIII. Results: While in 131 GBS strains, serotypes VII and VIII were not detected, the most frequently isolated serotypes were types Ia (36%, III (30.5% and II (13% respectively. Serotype Ia was the most frequently seen serotype in all samples. All GBS isolates were susceptible to penicilin G, ceftriaxone and vancomycin. Among the strains, tetracycline, erythromycin and clindamycin resistance rates were determined as 90%, 14.5%, and 13% respectively. Conclusion: Penicillin is still the first choice of treatment for the infections with all serotypes of S. agalactiae in Turkey.

  9. Biodegradation of crude oil and n-alkanes by fungi isolated from Oman

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elshafie, Abdulkadir [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman)], E-mail: Elshafie@squ.edu.om; AlKindi, Abdulaziz Yahya [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman); Al-Busaidi, Sultan [Oman Refinery Company Laboratories, LLC, P.O. Box 3568 Ruwi PC112 (Oman); Bakheit, Charles [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman); Albahry, S.N. [Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36 Al Khod, Muscat (Oman)

    2007-11-15

    Ten fungal species isolated from tar balls collected from the beaches of Oman were tested for their abilities to grow and degrade n-alkanes and crude oil. The abilities of Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus and Penicillium chrysogenum to degrade n-alkanes (C13-C18), crude oil were compared and their mycelial biomass was measured. Significant differences were found in the utilization of C15, C16, C17 and C18 by the three fungi. Similarly, significant differences we found in the amount of biomass produced by the three fungi growing on C13, C17, C18 and crude oil. The correlation coefficient of biomass and oil utilization was not statistically significant for Aspergillus niger, significant for Aspergillus terreus and highly significant for P. chrysogenum.

  10. Biodegradation of crude oil and n-alkanes by fungi isolated from Oman

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elshafie, Abdulkadir; AlKindi, Abdulaziz Yahya; Al-Busaidi, Sultan; Bakheit, Charles; Albahry, S.N.

    2007-01-01

    Ten fungal species isolated from tar balls collected from the beaches of Oman were tested for their abilities to grow and degrade n-alkanes and crude oil. The abilities of Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus and Penicillium chrysogenum to degrade n-alkanes (C13-C18), crude oil were compared and their mycelial biomass was measured. Significant differences were found in the utilization of C15, C16, C17 and C18 by the three fungi. Similarly, significant differences we found in the amount of biomass produced by the three fungi growing on C13, C17, C18 and crude oil. The correlation coefficient of biomass and oil utilization was not statistically significant for Aspergillus niger, significant for Aspergillus terreus and highly significant for P. chrysogenum

  11. Lumazine Peptides from the Marine-Derived Fungus Aspergillus terreus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minjung You

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Terrelumamides A (1 and B (2, two new lumazine-containing peptides, were isolated from the culture broth of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus terreus. From the results of combined spectroscopic and chemical analyses, the structures of these compounds were determined to be linear assemblies of 1-methyllumazine-6-carboxylic acid, an amino acid residue and anthranilic acid methyl ester connected by peptide bonds. These new compounds exhibited pharmacological activity by improving insulin sensitivity, which was evaluated in an adipogenesis model using human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In addition, the compounds exhibited fluorescence changes upon binding to DNA, demonstrating their potential applications to DNA sequence recognition.

  12. Identification of thermostable β-xylosidase activities produced by Aspergillus brasiliensis and Aspergillus niger

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Mads; Lauritzen, Henrik Klitgaard; Frisvad, Jens Christian

    2007-01-01

    Twenty Aspergillus strains were evaluated for production of extracellular cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities. Aspergillus brasiliensis, A. niger and A. japonicus produced the highest xylanase activities with the A. brasiliensis and A. niger strains producing thermostable beta......-xylosidases. The beta-xylosidase activities of the A. brasiliensis and A. niger strains had similar temperature and pH optima at 75 degrees C and pH 5 and retained 62% and 99%, respectively, of these activities over 1 h at 60 degrees C. At 75 degrees C, these values were 38 and 44%, respectively. Whereas A. niger...

  13. Identifying and characterizing the most significant β-glucosidase of the novel species Aspergillus saccharolyticus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorensen, Anette; Ahring, Birgitte K.; Lubeck, Mette; Ubhayasekera, Wimal; Bruno, Kenneth S.; Culley, David E.; Lubeck, Peter S.

    2012-08-20

    A newly discovered fungal species, Aspergillus saccharolyticus, was found to produce a culture broth rich in beta-glucosidase activity. In this present work, the main beta-glucosidase of A. saccharolyticus responsible for the efficient hydrolytic activity was identified, isolated, and characterized. Ion exchange chromatography was used to fractionate the culture broth, yielding fractions with high beta-glucosidase activity and only one visible band on an SDS-PAGE gel. Mass spectrometry analysis of this band gave peptide matches to beta-glucosidases from aspergilli. Through a PCR approach using degenerate primers and genome walking, a 2919 base pair sequence encoding the 860 amino acid BGL1 polypeptide was determined. BGL1 of A. saccharolyticus has 91% and 82% identity with BGL1 from Aspergillus aculeatus and BGL1 from Aspergillus niger, respectively, both belonging to Glycoside hydrolase family 3. Homology modeling studies suggested beta-glucosidase activity with preserved retaining mechanism and a wider catalytic pocket compared to other beta-glucosidases. The bgl1 gene was heterologously expressed in Trichoderma reesei QM6a, purified, and characterized by enzyme kinetics studies. The enzyme can hydrolyze cellobiose, pNPG, and cellodextrins. The enzyme showed good thermostability, was stable at 50°C, and at 60°C it had a half-life of approximately 6 hours.

  14. Genomic Diversity in the Genus of Aspergillus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jane Lind Nybo

    , sections and genus of Aspergillus. The work uncovers a large genomic diversity across all studied groups of species. The genomic diversity was especially evident on the section level, where the proteins shared by all species only represents ⇠55% of the proteome. This number decreases even further, to 38......, sections Nigri, Usti and Cavericolus, clade Tubingensis, and species A. niger. It lastly uses these results to predict genetic traits that take part in fungal speciation. Within a few years the Aspergillus whole-genus sequencing project will have published all currently-accepted Aspergillus genomes......Aspergillus is a highly important genus of saprotrophic filamentous fungi. It is a very diverse genus that is inextricably intertwined with human a↵airs on a daily basis, holding species relevant to plant and human pathology, enzyme and bulk chemistry production, food and beverage biotechnology...

  15. Improvement of Raw-Starch Digestibility of Amylase from Aspergillus awamori by Gamma Radiation Mutation for Alcohol Production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanlayakrit, Werasit; Piadang, Nattayana; Maweang, Metinee

    2006-09-01

    Aspergillus awamori was induced to mutation by gamma ray to improve raw-starch digestibility of amylase enzyme. Twenty fungal colonies were selected base on and amylase and glucoamylase activities including raw starch digestibility. The result showed that isolate A a(i)-2(16) was the best isolate for raw-starch digestion (65.64 %). It produced extracellular amylase enzyme which showed highest raw-starch digestibility more than wild type about 2 folds. Based on enzymes from solid culture showed activities higher from liquid medium. Therefore solid culture is suitable for fungal enzyme production.

  16. Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from a Thai Collection of Soil and Marine-Derived Fungi of the Genera Neosartorya and Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zin, War War May; Prompanya, Chadaporn; Buttachon, Suradet; Kijjoa, Anake

    2016-01-01

    Fungi are microorganisms which can produce interesting secondary metabolites with structural diversity. Although terrestrial fungi have been extensively investigated for their bioactive secondary metabolites such as antibiotics, marine-derived fungi have only recently attracted attention of Natural Products chemists. Our group has been working on the secondary metabolites produced by the cultures of the fungi of the genera Neosartorya and Aspergillus, collected from soil and marine environments from the tropical region for the purpose of finding new leads for anticancer and antibacterial drugs. This review covers only the secondary metabolites of four soil and six marine-derived species of Neosarorya as well as a new species of marine-derived Aspergillus, investigated by our group. In total, we have isolated fifty three secondary metabolites which can be categorized as polyketides (two), isocoumarins (six), terpenoids (two), meroterpenes (fourteen), alkaloids (twenty eight) and cyclic peptide (one). The anticancer and antibacterial activities of these fungal metabolites are also discussed. Among fifty three secondary metabolites isolated, only the alkaloid eurochevalierine and the cadinene sesquiterpene, isolated from the soil fungus N. pseudofisheri, showed relevant in vitro cytostatic activity against glioblastoma (U373) and non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cell lines while the meroditerpene aszonapyrone A exhibited strong antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria and also strong antibiofilm activity in these isolates.

  17. Phosphate solubilization and promotion of maize growth in a calcareous soil by penicillium oxalicum P4 and aspergillus niger P85

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alternative tactics for improving phosphorus nutrition in crop production are needed in China and elsewhere as the over-application of phosphatic fertilizers can adversely impact agricultural sustainability. Penicillium oxalicum P4 and Aspergillus niger P85 were isolated from a calcareous soil in C...

  18. Frequency of fungi in dogs with mycoses in a veterinary clinic from Callao, Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luján-Roca, D.Á.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Mycoses affecting dogs are widely distributed worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of fungi isolated from dogs. A retrospective study was performed to determine the main mycoses that affected dogs at a private veterinary clinic in Callao, Peru. Isolates were collected from skin and ear from 2003 to 2012. Fungi species were identified by standard microbiological techniques. A total of 54 fungi were isolated from 124 mycological studies; the most prevalent fungal species were Malassezia pachydermatis (51.86 % and Microsporum canis (27.78 %. The principal breeds affected were mongrel (31.52 %, boxer (11.1% and shih tzu (11.1 %. M. pachydermatis represented 58.8 % and 43.2 % of isolates in mongrel breed and in skin samples respectively. M. pachydermatis was the most frequent fungus getting >50 % of all isolates. Microsporum canis and Aspergillus spp. had >40 % presence.

  19. Proteomics of eukaryotic microorganisms: The medically and biotechnologically important fungal genus Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kniemeyer, Olaf

    2011-08-01

    Fungal species of the genus Aspergillus play significant roles as model organisms in basic research, as "cell factories" for the production of organic acids, pharmaceuticals or industrially important enzymes and as pathogens causing superficial and invasive infections in animals and humans. The release of the genome sequences of several Aspergillus sp. has paved the way for global analyses of protein expression in Aspergilli including the characterisation of proteins, which have not designated any function. With the application of proteomic methods, particularly 2-D gel and LC-MS/MS-based methods, first insights into the composition of the proteome of Aspergilli under different growth and stress conditions could be gained. Putative targets of global regulators led to the improvement of industrially relevant Aspergillus strains and so far not described Aspergillus antigens have already been discovered. Here, I review the recent proteome data generated for the species Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus oryzae. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Switching from a unicellular to multicellular organization in an Aspergillus niger hypha.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleichrodt, Robert-Jan; Hulsman, Marc; Wösten, Han A B; Reinders, Marcel J T

    2015-03-03

    Pores in fungal septa enable cytoplasmic streaming between hyphae and their compartments. Consequently, the mycelium can be considered unicellular. However, we show here that Woronin bodies close ~50% of the three most apical septa of growing hyphae of Aspergillus niger. The incidence of closure of the 9th and 10th septa was even ≥94%. Intercompartmental streaming of photoactivatable green fluorescent protein (PA-GFP) was not observed when the septa were closed, but open septa acted as a barrier, reducing the mobility rate of PA-GFP ~500 times. This mobility rate decreased with increasing septal age and under stress conditions, likely reflecting a regulatory mechanism affecting septal pore diameter. Modeling revealed that such regulation offers effective control of compound concentration between compartments. Modeling also showed that the incidence of septal closure in A. niger had an even stronger impact on cytoplasmic continuity. Cytoplasm of hyphal compartments was shown not to be in physical contact when separated by more than 4 septa. Together, data show that apical compartments of growing hyphae behave unicellularly, while older compartments have a multicellular organization. The hyphae of higher fungi are compartmentalized by porous septa that enable cytosolic streaming. Therefore, it is believed that the mycelium shares cytoplasm. However, it is shown here that the septa of Aspergillus niger are always closed in the oldest part of the hyphae, and therefore, these compartments are physically isolated from each other. In contrast, only part of the septa is closed in the youngest part of the hyphae. Still, compartments in this hyphal part are physically isolated when separated by more than 4 septa. Even open septa act as a barrier for cytoplasmic mixing. The mobility rate through such septa reduces with increasing septal age and under stress conditions. Modeling shows that the septal pore width is set such that its regulation offers maximal control of