| 1. |
- Al Shakirchi, M, et al.
(author)
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The Effects of Aspergillus fumigatus Colonization on Lung Function in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
- 2021
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In: Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aspergillus fumigatus is commonly isolated from CF airways. However, the impact on CF lung progression is not completely understood. In this study, using a 16-year retrospective observational cohort study (2000–2015) that included 132 patients, we determined the annual lung function, measured as percent predicted forced expiratory volume in the first second (ppFEV1), decline before and after the first colonization with A. fumigatus. Further, in the same individual, the ratios of lung function when patients were colonized with A. fumigatus and when they were not were calculated. The impact of eradication, with antifungal treatment or spontaneously, was assessed. The annual ppFEV1 was significantly lower after the first colonization with A. fumigatus. Furthermore, within the same individual, colonization with A. fumigatus for two and three years in a row was associated with 4.3% and 7.9% lower ppFEV1, respectively, compared to when not colonized. Finally, patients who eradicated A. fumigatus the following two years after colonization exhibited 9.9% and 14.5% higher ppFEV1 compared to patients who continued to produce cultures with A. fumigatus for two and three years. Our study demonstrated that A. fumigatus colonization was associated with a negative impact on lung function in the long term and eradication, spontaneously or with treatment, was associated with a better pulmonary outcome.
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| 2. |
- Bahram, Mohammad
(author)
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Current Insight into Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Methods in Discovering Ascomycetous Taxa
- 2021
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Culture techniques are vital in both traditional and modern fungal taxonomy. Establishing sexual-asexual links and synanamorphs, extracting DNA and secondary metabolites are mainly based on cultures. However, it is widely accepted that a large number of species are not sporulating in nature while others cannot be cultured. Recent ecological studies based on culture-independent methods revealed these unculturable taxa, i.e., dark taxa. Recent fungal diversity estimation studies suggested that environmental sequencing plays a vital role in discovering missing species. However, Sanger sequencing is still the main approach in determining DNA sequences in culturable species. In this paper, we summarize culture-based and culture-independent methods in the study of ascomycetous taxa. High-throughput sequencing of leaf endophytes, leaf litter fungi and fungi in aquatic environments is important to determine dark taxa. Nevertheless, currently, naming dark taxa is not recognized by the ICN, thus provisional naming of them is essential as suggested by several studies.
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| 3. |
- Bulkan, Gülru, et al.
(author)
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Enhancing or inhibitory effect of fruit or vegetable bioactive compound on Aspergillus niger and A. oryzae
- 2022
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI. - 2309-608X. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fruit and vegetable processing wastes are global challenges but also suitable sources with a variety of nutrients for different fermentative products using bacteria, yeast or fungi. The interaction of microorganisms with bioactive compounds in fruit waste can have inhibitory or enhancing effect on microbial growth. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of 10 bioactive compounds, including octanol, ellagic acid, (−)-epicatechin, quercetin, betanin, ascorbic acid, limonene, hexanal, car-3-ene, and myrcene in the range of 0–240 mg/L on filamentous fungi Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger were investigated. These fungi were both found to be resistant to all compounds except octanol, which can be used as a natural antifungal agent, specifically against A. oryzae and A. niger contamination. On the contrary, polyphenols (quercetin and ellagic acid), ascorbic acid, and hexanal enhanced A. niger biomass yield 28%, 7.8%, 16%, and 6%, respectively. Furthermore, 240 mg/L car-3-ene was found to increase A. oryzae biomass yield 8%, while a 9% decrease was observed at lower concentration, 24 mg/L. Similarly, up to 17% decrease of biomass yield was observed from betanin and myrcene. The resistant nature of the fungi against FPW bioactive compounds shows the potential of these fungi for further application in waste valorization. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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| 4. |
- Castaño Soler, Carles
(author)
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Lack of Phylogenetic Differences in Ectomycorrhizal Fungi among Distinct Mediterranean Pine Forest Habitats
- 2021
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding whether the occurrences of ectomycorrhizal species in a given tree host are phylogenetically determined can help in assessing different conservational needs for each fungal species. In this study, we characterized ectomycorrhizal phylogenetic composition and phylogenetic structure in 42 plots with five different Mediterranean pine forests: i.e., pure forests dominated by P. nigra, P. halepensis, and P. sylvestris, and mixed forests of P. nigra-P. halepensis and P. nigra-P. sylvestris, and tested whether the phylogenetic structure of ectomycorrhizal communities differs among these. We found that ectomycorrhizal communities were not different among pine tree hosts neither in phylogenetic composition nor in structure and phylogenetic diversity. Moreover, we detected a weak abiotic filtering effect (4%), with pH being the only significant variable influencing the phylogenetic ectomycorrhizal community, while the phylogenetic structure was slightly influenced by the shared effect of stand structure, soil, and geographic distance. However, the phylogenetic community similarity increased at lower pH values, supporting that fewer, closely related species were found at lower pH values. Also, no phylogenetic signal was detected among exploration types, although short and contact were the most abundant types in these forest ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that pH but not tree host, acts as a strong abiotic filter on ectomycorrhizal phylogenetic communities in Mediterranean pine forests at a local scale. Finally, our study shed light on dominant ectomycorrhizal foraging strategies in drought-prone ecosystems such as Mediterranean forests.
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| 5. |
- Davydenko, Kateryna
(author)
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Worldwide Genetic Structure Elucidates the Eurasian Origin and Invasion Pathways of Dothistroma septosporum, Causal Agent of Dothistroma Needle Blight
- 2021
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dothistroma septosporum, the primary causal agent of Dothistroma needle blight, is one of the most significant foliar pathogens of pine worldwide. Its wide host and environmental ranges have led to its global success as a pathogen and severe economic damage to pine forests in many regions. This comprehensive global population study elucidated the historical migration pathways of the pathogen to reveal the Eurasian origin of the fungus. When over 3800 isolates were examined, three major population clusters were revealed: North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, with distinct subclusters in the highly diverse Eastern European cluster. Modeling of historical scenarios using approximate Bayesian computation revealed the North American cluster was derived from an ancestral population in Eurasia. The Northeastern European subcluster was shown to be ancestral to all other European clusters and subclusters. The Turkish subcluster diverged first, followed by the Central European subcluster, then the Western European cluster, which has subsequently spread to much of the Southern Hemisphere. All clusters and subclusters contained both mating-types of the fungus, indicating the potential for sexual reproduction, although asexual reproduction remained the primary mode of reproduction. The study strongly suggests the native range of D. septosporum to be in Eastern Europe (i.e., the Baltic and Western Russia) and Western Asia.
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| 6. |
- Devanthi, P V P, et al.
(author)
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Do Kombucha Symbiotic Cultures of Bacteria and Yeast Affect Bacterial Cellulose Yield in Molasses?
- 2021
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In: JOURNAL OF FUNGI. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a valuable biopolymer typically observed in Kombucha with many potential food applications. Many studies highlight yeast's roles in providing reducing sugars, used by the bacteria to grow and produce BC. However, whether yeast could enhance the BC yields remains unclear. This study investigates the effect of yeast Dekkera bruxellensis on bacteria Komagataeibacter intermedius growth and BC production in molasses medium. The results showed that the co-culture stimulated K. intermedius by similar to 2 log CFU/mL, which could be attributed to enhanced reducing sugar utilization. However, BC yields decreased by similar to 24%, suggesting a negative impact of D. bruxellensis on BC production. In contrast to other studies, regardless of D. bruxellensis, K. intermedius increased the pH to similar to 9.0, favoring the BC production. Furthermore, pH increase was slower in co-culture as compared to single culture cultivation, which could be the reason for lower BC yields. This study indicates that co-culture could promote synergistic growth but results in the BC yield reduction. This knowledge can help design a more controlled fermentation process for optimum bacterial growth and, ultimately, BC production.
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| 7. |
- Ernits, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Structural insight into a yeast maltase : the BaAG2 from blastobotrys adeninivorans with transglycosylating activity
- 2021
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI. - 2309-608X. ; 7:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An early-diverged yeast, Blastobotrys (Arxula) adeninivorans (Ba), has biotechnological potential due to nutritional versatility, temperature tolerance, and production of technologically ap-plicable enzymes. We have biochemically characterized from the Ba type strain (CBS 8244) the GH13-family maltase BaAG2 with efficient transglycosylation activity on maltose. In the current study, transglycosylation of sucrose was studied in detail. The chemical entities of sucrose-derived oligosaccharides were determined using nuclear magnetic resonance. Several potentially prebiotic oligosaccharides with α-1,1, α-1,3, α-1,4, and α-1,6 linkages were disclosed among the products. Trisaccharides isomelezitose, erlose, and theanderose, and disaccharides maltulose and trehalulose were dominant transglycosylation products. To date no structure for yeast maltase has been deter-mined. Structures of the BaAG2 with acarbose and glucose in the active center were solved at 2.12 and 2.13 Å resolution, respectively. BaAG2 exhibited a catalytic domain with a (β/α)8-barrel fold and Asp216, Glu274, and Asp348 as the catalytic triad. The fairly wide active site cleft contained water channels mediating substrate hydrolysis. Next to the substrate-binding pocket an enlarged space for potential binding of transglycosylation acceptors was identified. The involvement of a Glu (Glu309) at subsite +2 and an Arg (Arg233) at subsite +3 in substrate binding was shown for the first time for α-glucosidases.
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| 8. |
- Grenville-Briggs Didymus, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Altitudinal Heterogeneity of UV Adaptation in Phytophthora infestans Is Associated with the Spatial Distribution of a DNA Repair Gene
- 2021
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate change is considered a major threat to society and nature. UV irradiation is the most important environmental genotoxic agent. Thus, how elevated UV irradiation may influence human health and ecosystems has generated wide concern in the scientific community, as well as with policy makers and the public in general. In this study, we investigated patterns and mechanisms of UV adaptation in natural ecosystems by studying a gene-specific variation in the potato late blight pathogen, Phytophthora infestans. We compared the sequence characteristics of radiation sensitive 23 (RAD23), a gene involved in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway and UV tolerance, in P. infestans isolates sampled from various altitudes. We found that lower genetic variation in the RAD23 gene was caused by natural selection. The hypothesis that UV irradiation drives this selection was supported by strong correlations between the genomic characteristics and altitudinal origin (historic UV irradiation) of the RAD23 sequences with UV tolerance of the P. infestans isolates. These results indicate that the RAD23 gene plays an important role in the adaptation of P. infestans to UV stress. We also found that different climatic factors could work synergistically to determine the evolutionary adaptation of species, making the influence of climate change on ecological functions and resilience more difficult to predict. Future attention should aim at understanding the collective impact generated by simultaneous change in several climate factors on species adaptation and ecological sustainability, using state of the art technologies such as experimental evolution, genome-wide scanning, and proteomics.
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| 9. |
- Ingrosso, G, et al.
(author)
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Breakdown of Symbiosis in Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis
- 2021
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In: Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 7:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Oral mucositis is an acute side effect of radiation therapy that is especially common with head and neck cancer treatment. In recent years, several studies have revealed the predisposing factors for mucositis, leading to the pre-treatment of patients to deter the development of opportunistic oral fungal infections. Although many clinical protocols already advise the use of probiotics to counteract inflammation and fungal colonization, preclinical studies are needed to better delineate the mechanisms by which a host may acquire benefits via co-evolution with oral microbiota, probiotics, and fungal commensals, such as Candida albicans, especially during acute inflammation. Here, we review the current understanding of radiation therapy-dependent oral mucositis in terms of pathology, prevention, treatment, and related opportunistic infections, with a final focus on the oral microbiome and how it may be important for future therapy.
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| 10. |
- Krifors, A., et al.
(author)
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T2Candida Assay in the Diagnosis of Intraabdominal Candidiasis: A Prospective Multicenter Study
- 2022
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In: Journal of Fungi. - : MDPI AG. - 2309-608X. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The T2Candida magnetic resonance assay is a direct-from-blood pathogen detection assay that delivers a result within 3-5 h, targeting the most clinically relevant Candida species. Between February 2019 and March 2021, the study included consecutive patients aged >18 years admitted to an intensive care unit or surgical high-dependency unit due to gastrointestinal surgery or necrotizing pancreatitis and from whom diagnostic blood cultures were obtained. Blood samples were tested in parallel with T2Candida and 1,3-beta-D-glucan. Of 134 evaluable patients, 13 (10%) were classified as having proven intraabdominal candidiasis (IAC) according to the EORTC/MSG criteria. Two of the thirteen patients (15%) had concurrent candidemia. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, respectively, were 46%, 97%, 61%, and 94% for T2Candida and 85%, 83%, 36%, and 98% for 1,3-beta-D-glucan. All positive T2Candida results were consistent with the culture results at the species level, except for one case of dual infection. The performance of T2Candida was comparable with that of 1,3-beta-D-glucan for candidemic IAC but had a lower sensitivity for non-candidemic IAC (36% vs. 82%). In conclusion, T2Candida may be a valuable complement to 1,3-beta-D-glucan in the clinical management of high-risk surgical patients because of its rapid results and ease of use.
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