Abstract:Background
Scedosporium species are a group of pathogenic fungi, which can be found worldwide around high human-impacted areas. Infections of Scedosporium have been reported in several immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients with a high mortality rate. Recently, we have isolated and identified several Scedosporium strains during an environmental survey in Thailand.
Results
We describe the isolate, TMMI-012, possibly a new species isolated fr… Show more
“…Munoz et al and Cortez et al have previously described S. apiospermum isolates as typically exhibiting floccose, grey to brown colonies with synanamorph graphium, and the absence of cleistothecia in aged cultures [ 52 , 53 ]. Consistent with our findings, Kitisin et al reported that Scedosporium isolates can be identified by their colonies, which are dark grey to smoke brown on the upper surface and dark olive green, brown, or black on the underside along with septate hyphae and solitary conidiophores producing pale brown, ovoid, or ellipsoidal conidia, with an average size of 8.18 ± 0.16 μm, and optimal growth at 37 °C [ 27 ]. Fig.…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 90%
“…Notably, in this study, to the best of our knowledge, environmental isolates of Scedosporium species have been discovered for the first time in industrial wastewater in Saudi Arabia. Scedosporium species including S. apiospermum are emerging filamentous fungi characterized by septate hyphae and have previously been isolated in areas heavily impacted by human activity, such as public parks and industrial sites [ 27 ].…”
“…Munoz et al and Cortez et al have previously described S. apiospermum isolates as typically exhibiting floccose, grey to brown colonies with synanamorph graphium, and the absence of cleistothecia in aged cultures [ 52 , 53 ]. Consistent with our findings, Kitisin et al reported that Scedosporium isolates can be identified by their colonies, which are dark grey to smoke brown on the upper surface and dark olive green, brown, or black on the underside along with septate hyphae and solitary conidiophores producing pale brown, ovoid, or ellipsoidal conidia, with an average size of 8.18 ± 0.16 μm, and optimal growth at 37 °C [ 27 ]. Fig.…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 90%
“…Notably, in this study, to the best of our knowledge, environmental isolates of Scedosporium species have been discovered for the first time in industrial wastewater in Saudi Arabia. Scedosporium species including S. apiospermum are emerging filamentous fungi characterized by septate hyphae and have previously been isolated in areas heavily impacted by human activity, such as public parks and industrial sites [ 27 ].…”
“…These genes were highlighted in our analyses as anciently shaped traits, and both are associated with stress resistance and adaptation (Campana et al 2022 ; Dubey et al 2020 ; Cordero & Casadevall 2017 ; Gessler et al 2014 ). At the same time, chitin is highly immunogenic and chitin metabolism in Scedosporium and Lomentospora contributes to virulence and resistance to antifungals (Angiolella et al, 2022 ; Kitisin et al 2021 ; Komi et al 2018 ; Pellon et al 2018 ). Melanin is also recognized as a main virulence factor in Lomentospora and Scedosporium spp.…”
Emerging fungal pathogens are a global challenge for humankind. Many efforts have been made to understand the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity in bacteria, and OMICs techniques are largely responsible for those advancements. By contrast, our limited understanding of opportunism and antifungal resistance is preventing us from identifying, limiting and interpreting the emergence of fungal pathogens. The genus Scedosporium (Microascaceae) includes fungi with high tolerance to environmental pollution, whilst some species can be considered major human pathogens, such as Scedosporium apiospermum and Scedosporium boydii. However, unlike other fungal pathogens, little is known about the genome evolution of these organisms. We sequenced two novel genomes of Scedosporium aurantiacum and Scedosporium minutisporum isolated from extreme, strongly anthropized environments. We compared all the available Scedosporium and Microascaceae genomes, that we systematically annotated and characterized ex novo in most cases. The genomes in this family were integrated in a Phylum-level comparison to infer the presence of putative, shared genomic traits in filamentous ascomycetes with pathogenic potential. The analysis included the genomes of 100 environmental and clinical fungi, revealing poor evolutionary convergence of putative pathogenicity traits. By contrast, several features in Microascaceae and Scedosporium were detected that might have a dual role in responding to environmental challenges and allowing colonization of the human body, including chitin, melanin and other cell wall related genes, proteases, glutaredoxins and magnesium transporters. We found these gene families to be impacted by expansions, orthologous transposon insertions, and point mutations. With RNA-seq, we demonstrated that most of these anciently impacted genomic features responded to the stress imposed by an antifungal compound (voriconazole) in the two environmental strains S. aurantiacum MUT6114 and S. minutisporum MUT6113. Therefore, the present genomics and transcriptomics investigation stands on the edge between stress resistance and pathogenic potential, to elucidate whether fungi were pre-adapted to infect humans. We highlight the strengths and limitations of genomics applied to opportunistic human pathogens, the multifactoriality of pathogenicity and resistance to drugs, and suggest a scenario where pressures other than anthropic contributed to forge filamentous human pathogens.
“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on CAP treatment of infected tissue or skin models with regard to pro-inflammatory cytokine modulation. So far, only Kitsin et al have reported a decrease in C. albicans growth and reduced secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines after treatment with an antifungal drug using a cutaneous candidiasis model [46].…”
Cutaneous candidiasis is characterized by an overgrowth of Candida leading to skin inflammation and infection. Similar to bacteria, Candida can develop tolerance to common antifungal drugs. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), with its proven antimicrobial properties, offers a promising alternative to the prevailing methods. Because of plasma heterogeneity each new device must be tested individually for its effectiveness. Antimicrobial activity is usually studied using planktonic microorganisms or animal models, making it difficult to extrapolate the results to the human system. Therefore, a 3D skin model of cutaneous candidiasis for the antimicrobial testing of CAP was established. First, the reaction of the 3D-skin model to Candida infection was examined using various histological and molecular–biological methods. Infection with C. albicans resulted in increased expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and augmented expression of antimicrobial peptides. Within 48 h, hyphal growth spread throughout the model and caused tissue damage. Second, the CAP treatment was employed. It was shown that CAP significantly reduced the spread of the yeast in the infected skin models as well as decreased the expression and secretion of the infection markers. The plasma device exhibited a high antifungal activity by completely inhibiting hyphal growth and reducing inflammation at the highest treatment duration.
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