A Review on Sporotrichosis and the Emergence of Sporothrix brasiliensis as a Pathogen

Valdez, Alessandro F.; Corrêa-Junior, Dario; Bonilla, Jhon Jhamilton Artunduaga; Zamith-Miranda, Daniel; Frases, Susana; Freitas, Dayvison Francis Saraiva; Almeida-Paes, Rodrigo; Nimrichter, Leonardo; Nosanchuk, Joshua D.

doi:10.1007/s40475-023-00297-6

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Today, most fungi are unable to survive at or above human body temperature, and analyzes of yeast thermal tolerance has shown that there is a 6% reduction in the fungal species able to survive at each degree above 30°C [4,5]. In recent decades we have seen the sharp emergence of new fungal pathogens such as Candida auris and Sporothrix brasiliensis , a phenomenon that has been attributed to gained thermotolerance [2,6]. Analysis of environmental fungi deposited at the Westerdijk Fungal Diversity Institute shows that fungi deposited in recent decades have a higher maximum growth temperature than those in decades prior, potentially showing the shift of gaining thermotolerance [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal and pigment characterization of environmental fungi in the urban heat island of Baltimore City

Smith,

Bencomo,

Faiez

et al. 2023

Preprint

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One of the major barriers of fungal infections of mammals is the inability to grow and/or survive at mammalian body temperature, typically around 37°C. This has provided mammals an advantage over fungi. However, environmental fungi may soon adapt to persist at higher temperatures, consistent with mammalian body temperature, due to thermal selection pressures imposed by climate change, global warming, and increased frequency of extreme heat events. Consequently, there is a need for more updated information about the thermal tolerance range of fungi near humans, such as in urban areas. The heat island effect suggests that cities are up to 8°C warmer than their suburban counterparts because of increased heat production, asphalt coatings and reduced greenspace among other factors, and it is more common in lower income and marginalized urban communities. Thus, urban centers are at increased risk for the emergence of heat tolerant fungi. In this study, we developed a methodology to collect and archive fungal isolates from sidewalk and soil samples in both warmer and cooler neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. We demonstrate a novel methodology for fungal sample collection from sidewalks, employing the use of standardized and commercially available taffy. Analysis of fungal isolates collected from warmer neighborhoods revealed greater thermal tolerance and lower pigmentation, suggesting local adaptation to heat. Lower pigmentation in hotter areas is consistent with the notion that fungi use pigmentation to help regulate their temperature. Further, we identified the robust presence of the polyextremotolerant fungusAureobasidium pullalansfrom the warmest neighborhood in Baltimore, further showing that the extreme conditions of cities can drive proliferation of extremotolerant fungi. This study develops new techniques for environmental fungal collection and provides insight on the fungal census in an urban setting that can inform future work to study how urban environments may drive stress/thermotolerance in fungi, which could alter fungal interactions with humans and impact human health.

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