Scedosporium species in soils from various biomes in Northwestern Morocco

Abstract

Scedosporium species are opportunistic pathogens causing various infections, including disseminated infections in severely immunocompromised patients. Preventive measures aiming to reduce the risk of exposure to these fungi require a better knowledge on their ecology and on the sources of contamination of the patients. In this context, 99 soil samples from the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra and Fez-Meknes regions in Morocco were analyzed. Samples were inoculated on the highly selective Scedo-Select III culture medium, and seven chemical parameters of the soils were measured. Scedosporium species were detected in 48 of the samples, with the highest density in soils from wastewater treatment plants and landfills, followed by those from roadsides and polluted riverbanks, thus confirming the impact of human activities on their ecology. Scedosporium apiospermum was the most common species, followed by S. boydii and S. aurantiacum. Analysis of the chemical parameters of the soils revealed the presence of Scedosporium species was mainly associated with a moderate electrical conductivity, a pH range of 7.0 to 7.6, a nutrient-rich content and a moderate phosphorus amount. Thereby, these results demonstrated the relatively high occurrence of Scedosporium in Morocco and highlighted the impact of phosphorus content on their ecology.

In depth search of the Sequence Read Archive database reveals global distribution of the emerging pathogenic fungus Scedosporium aurantiacum

“…indicated geographical differences, 1 , 14 with S. aurantiacum to be mainly abundant in Australia 11 and in agricultural areas in the west of France, 14 with additional reports from The Netherlands, Morocco, Thailand and Mexico. 1 , 15 – 18 In Australia, more than 50% of all environmental Scedosporium isolates were S. aurantiacum , which coincides with the relative high prevalence of scedosporiosis and their presence as colonizers in CF patients in Australia. 12 , 19 In total, clinical isolates of S. aurantiacum have been reported from ten countries, including Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, and United States of America.…”

“…So far, S. aurantiacum has been reported from only a few countries, with limited studies being done to assess its global distribution. Environmental isolates of S. aurantiacum have only been reported previously from Australia, 11 France, 3 , 14 The Netherlands, 1 Morocco, 18 Thailand 15 , 16 and Mexico. 17 Clinical reports of S. aurantiacum have previously not demonstrated any association with environmental isolates of the same species.…”

“… 13 Several studies have been undertaken to describe the ecology and environmental distribution of different Scedosporium species mainly in Europe, such as in France, 14 Austria, and The Netherlands, 1 as well as in Australia, 11 Thailand, 15 , 16 Mexico 17 and Morocco. 18 …”

“…In comparison, environmental isolates of S. aurantiacum have been reported from 14 countries: Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Thailand, and UK, where it was mainly reported from soil, compost and sewage water. 1 , 11 , 14 – 18 , 20 – 23 …”

Multilocus Sequence Typing Reveals Extensive Genetic Diversity of the Emerging Fungal Pathogen Scedosporium aurantiacum

“…This infers that isolates from both sources are closely related, indicating that the environment may be the most likely source of colonization and subsequent infection. Scedosporium species have been reported globally ( Rougeron et al., 2018 ), with S. aurantiacum being mainly reported from the environment in Australia ( Harun et al., 2010a ), Austria ( Kaltseis et al., 2009 ), France ( Rougeron et al., 2015 ), Morocco ( Mouhajir et al., 2020 ) and Thailand ( Luplertlop et al., 2016 ). However, the current analysis did not reveal any sequence type shared by environmental and clinical strains.…”