Dispersal of Aphanoascus keratinophilus by the rook Corvus frugilegus during breeding in East Poland

Abstract

The process of dispersal of the potentially disease-causing, geophilic and keratinolytic fungal strain Aphanoascus keratinophilus (the perfect, sexual stage of Chrysosporium keratinophilum) by the rook Corvus frugilegus was studied. The source of A. keratinophilus strains was pellets of the rook, thus far not considered a carrier of this particular opportunistic pathogen. Pellets collected from breeding colonies of rooks were analysed in terms of the occurrence of keratinolytic fungi with the application of the native keratin bait method. Among the 83 rook pellets analysed, 24 (29%) were infected by keratinophilic fungi. Pure cultures of the fungi were identified to species based on traditional morphological features. Traditional mycological identification was verified by the PCR–RFLP molecular identification method as well as DNA sequencing. The obtained results showed the presence of 90 Aphanoascus keratinophilus strains, 6 Chrysosporium tropicum strains, and 3 Chrysosporium pannicola strains. The PCR melting profile (PCR-MP) method was used to identify intraspecies variations of the 90 analysed A. keratinophilus strains. The dispersal of genotypes and possible pathways of A. keratinophilus dispersal and infection via rook pellets were analysed.

Hybrid De Novo Whole-Genome Assembly, Annotation, and Identification of Secondary Metabolite Gene Clusters in the Ex-Type Strain of Chrysosporium keratinophilum

“…However, various studies consider some strains of Chrysosporium spp. as opportunistic pathogens, causing skin and nail diseases, and deeper infections in immunocompromised patients [62].…”

“…However, various studies consider some strains of Chrysosporium spp. as opportunistic pathogens, causing skin and nail diseases, and deeper infections in immunocompromised patients [62]. The secondary metabolite analysis, using AntiSMASH, classified 27 BGCs into nine types, which, according to the genomic organization principle implicated upon transcriptional regulation, could have a role in the production of secondary metabolites by this strain [63] (Figure 5): six non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) clusters, six type 1 polyketide synthase (T1PKS) clusters, tree terpene clusters, one indole cluster, two type 3 polyketide synthase (T3PKS) clusters, one lasso peptide, one non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like cluster, one beta-lactone and six hybrid clusters.…”