Ecology of Scedosporium Species: Present Knowledge and Future Research

Abstract

The genus Scedosporium, which comprises at least five clinically relevant species, i.e. Scedosporium apiospermum, Scedosporium boydii, Scedosporium aurantiacum, Scedosporium dehoogii and Scedosporium minutisporum, ranks the second among the filamentous fungi colonizing the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). This colonization of the airways is thought to contribute to the inflammatory reaction leading to a progressive deterioration of the lung function. Additionally, these colonizing fungi may lead to severe disseminated infections in case of lung transplantation. Therefore, considering the low susceptibility of Scedosporium species to all current antifungal drugs, preventive measures should be defined to reduce the risk of exposure to these fungi for non-colonized CF patients. With this in mind, several studies have been conducted to elucidate the ecology of these fungi and to define possible sources of patient contamination. This review will summarize the major outcomes of those studies, including: the clear demonstration that ecological niches of Scedosporium species are strongly impacted by human activities, and the ability of Scedosporium species to degrade aliphatic and aromatic pollutants which supports the high occurrence of these species in contaminated soils and polluted waters and makes them promising candidates for bioremediation purposes. Finally, prospects for future research in this field are proposed.

Fungal Respiratory Infections in Cystic Fibrosis (CF): Recent Progress and Future Research Agenda

“…The authors review ecological niche of Scedosporium species in indoor and outdoor environment with S. apiospermum and S. boydii dominating both of these niches in France. Scedosporium species' ability to degrade aliphatic and aromatic pollutants and the impact of human activities on their ecological niches are evaluated in the context of their relative abundance in CF airways [19]. A similar theme could be found in the article by Zalar et al [20] with the focus on E. dermatitidis colonization in CF patients.…”

“…Aspergillus, Exophiala and Pneumocystis in CF patients [8][9][10][11] 5. Microbiome and ecology of fungal pathogens [18][19][20] 6. Host response of fungal diseases in CF patients [21] 7.…”

“…This study established that the core mycobiota composed of Aspergillus belonging to the Fumigati section and Penicillium sp. The notable presence of Scedosporium species in the CF respiratory specimens is addressed in a broader ecological context by Rougeron et al [19]. The authors review ecological niche of Scedosporium species in indoor and outdoor environment with S. apiospermum and S. boydii dominating both of these niches in France.…”

Scedosporium species in soils from various biomes in Northwestern Morocco

“…Since the first description of these fungi, a high number of papers have been published reporting their isolation from various substrates, mainly nutrient-rich substrates, such as soil and manure of livestock, poultry or cattle (for a review see [8]). Recently highly selective culture media have been developed like Sce-Sel+ or Scedo-Select III [9,10], which permitted significant progress in our knowledge on the ecology of these fungi.…”

“…Kaltseis et al [12] correlated Scedosporium abundance in the soil with increasing nitrogen concentration and decreasing pH within a pH range of 6.1-7.5. In addition, all environmental studies agreed that the ecology of this genus is strongly impacted by human activities [8]. Particularly, their common occurrence in contaminated water and highly polluted soils could be related to their ability to grow on gaseous n-alkane [13], and to use cyclic and aromatic pollutants as carbon and energy sources, like tetrahydrofuran (THF) [14], phenol [15], some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) [16] or rapeseed, biodiesel and diesel oils [17].…”