Faculty Opinions recommendation of Genetic diversity of Aspergillus fumigatus in indoor hospital environments.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic mold and an opportunistic pathogen with a broad geographic and ecological distribution. A. fumigatus is the most common etiological agent of aspergillosis, affecting over 8,000,000 individuals worldwide. Due to the rising number of infections and increasing reports of resistance to antifungal therapy, there is an urgent need to understand A. fumigatus populations from local to global levels. However, many geographic locations and ecological niches remain understudied, including soil environments from arctic regions. In this study, we isolated 32 and 52 A. fumigatus strains from soils in Iceland and the Northwest Territories of Canada (NWT), respectively. These isolates were genotyped at nine microsatellite loci and the genotypes were compared with each other and with those in other parts of the world. Though significantly differentiated from each other, our analyses revealed that A. fumigatus populations from Iceland and NWT contained evidence for both clonal and sexual reproductions, and shared many alleles with each other and with those collected from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Interestingly, we found one triazole-resistant strain containing the TR34 /L98H mutation in the cyp51A gene from NWT. This strain is closely related to a triazole-resistant genotype broadly distributed in India. Together, our results suggest that the northern soil populations of A. fumigatus are significantly influenced by those from other geographic regions.

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Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to investigation of genetic diversity, and relationships among a set of clinical Aspergillus fumigatus isolates

Journal of Biotechnology Research Center ◽

10.24126/jobrc.2014.8.1.304 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 46-54

Author(s):

Batool Omran Theeb ◽

Abdulkareem Jasim Hashim ◽

Akeel Hussain Ali Al-Assi

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Genetic Relatedness ◽

Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽

Geographic Origin ◽

Close Relation ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Universal Primers ◽

Characteristic Banding ◽

High Level

This study is an attempt to determine the genetic diversity and relationships among fourteen local isolate isolated from patients with Aspergillosis (Aspergillus fumigatus) by using the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Twelve universal primers used in this study produced 94 bands across fourteen isolates. Of these bands, 67 bands or 71.2% were polymorphic. The size of the amplified bands ranged between 100-2000 bp. The genetic polymorphism value of each primer was determined and ranged between 33-100%. In terms of unique banding patterns, determine the finger print for six isolates the most characteristic banding pattern was for the (AFU1, AFU2, AFU3, AFU4, AFU8 and AFU14) with primer (OP F-16 , OP I-06, OP F-16, OP X-01, OP X-01and OP A-06). Genetic distances ranged from 0.12419 to 0.64404 among A. fumigatus isolates. Cluster analyses were performed to construct a dendrogram among studied A. fumigatus isolates. The cluster analysis places most of the A.fumigatus isolates isolated from patient come from yhe same area into a close relation (subcluster) showing a high level of genetic relatedness and were distinct from isolates from another area (the other subcluster). Interestingly, a number of isolates originating from the same sources did form well defined groups, indicating association between the RAPD patterns and the geographic origin of the isolates. The information generated from this study can be used in the future for controlling of Aspergillosis programs.

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Ecology and Genetic Diversity of Aspergillus fumigatus

Human Fungal Pathogens ◽

10.1007/978-3-662-10380-7_2 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 25-36

Author(s):

Emmanuelle Bart-Delabesse ◽

Jean-Paul Latgé

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus

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Genetic diversity ofAspergillus fumigatusin indoor hospital environments

Medical Mycology ◽

10.3109/13693780903575360 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 48 (6) ◽

pp. 832-838 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Ricardo Araujo ◽

António Amorim ◽

Leonor Gusmão

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Hospital Environments

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Molecular Epidemiology of Aspergillus fumigatus in Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis Patients

Journal of Fungi ◽

10.3390/jof7020152 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 152

Author(s):

Mireille H. van der Torre ◽

Hongwei Shen ◽

Riina Rautemaa-Richardson ◽

Malcolm D. Richardson ◽

Lilyann Novak-Frazer

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Cystic Fibrosis ◽

Invasive Aspergillosis ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Molecular Epidemiology ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Concerted Effort ◽

Pulmonary Aspergillosis ◽

Molecular Genotyping ◽

Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Molecular fungal genotyping techniques developed and employed for epidemiological studies have understandably concentrated on establishing the genetic diversity of Aspergillus fumigatus in invasive aspergillosis due to its severity, the urgency for treatment, and the need to demonstrate possible sources. Some early studies suggested that these strains were phenotypically, if not genotypically, different from others. However, with improved discrimination and evaluations, incorporating environmental as well as clinical isolates from other Aspergillus conditions (e.g., chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and cystic fibrosis), this premise is no longer upheld. Moreover, with the onset of increased global triazole resistance, there has been a concerted effort to incorporate resistance profiling into genotyping studies and the realisation that the wider population of non-immunocompromised aspergillosis patients are at risk. This review summarises the developments in molecular genotyping studies that incorporate resistance profiling with attention to chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and an example of our UK experience.

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Nonrandom Distribution of Azole Resistance across the Global Population of Aspergillus fumigatus

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00392-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Thomas R. Sewell ◽

Jianing Zhu ◽

Johanna Rhodes ◽

Ferry Hagen ◽

Jacques F. Meis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Drug Resistance ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Pathogenic Fungus ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Resistance Mechanisms ◽

Health Concern ◽

Azole Resistance ◽

Content Type ◽

Global Population

ABSTRACT The emergence of azole resistance in the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus has continued to increase, with the dominant resistance mechanisms, consisting of a 34-nucleotide tandem repeat (TR34)/L98H and TR46/Y121F/T289A, now showing a structured global distribution. Using hierarchical clustering and multivariate analysis of 4,049 A. fumigatus isolates collected worldwide and genotyped at nine microsatellite loci using analysis of short tandem repeats of A. fumigatus (STRAf), we show that A. fumigatus can be subdivided into two broad clades and that cyp51A alleles TR34/L98H and TR46/Y121F/T289A are unevenly distributed across these two populations. Diversity indices show that azole-resistant isolates are genetically depauperate compared to their wild-type counterparts, compatible with selective sweeps accompanying the selection of beneficial mutations. Strikingly, we found that azole-resistant clones with identical microsatellite profiles were globally distributed and sourced from both clinical and environmental locations, confirming that azole resistance is an international public health concern. Our work provides a framework for the analysis of A. fumigatus isolates based on their microsatellite profile, which we have incorporated into a freely available, user-friendly R Shiny application (AfumID) that provides clinicians and researchers with a method for the fast, automated characterization of A. fumigatus genetic relatedness. Our study highlights the effect that azole drug resistance is having on the genetic diversity of A. fumigatus and emphasizes its global importance upon this medically important pathogenic fungus. IMPORTANCE Azole drug resistance in the human-pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus continues to emerge, potentially leading to untreatable aspergillosis in immunosuppressed hosts. Two dominant, environmentally associated resistance mechanisms, which are thought to have evolved through selection by the agricultural application of azole fungicides, are now distributed globally. Understanding the effect that azole resistance is having on the genetic diversity and global population of A. fumigatus will help mitigate drug-resistant aspergillosis and maintain the azole class of fungicides for future use in both medicine and crop protection.

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Fungal colonization of air-conditioning systems

Archives of Biological Sciences ◽

10.2298/abs0802201l ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 201-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Milica Ljaljevic-Grbic ◽

Jelena Vukojevic ◽

M. Stupar

Keyword(s):

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Air Conditioning ◽

Fungal Colonization ◽

Air Conditioner ◽

Volatile Organics ◽

Hospital Environments ◽

Indoor Fungi ◽

Air Conditioning Systems ◽

Human Infections

Fungi have been implicated as quantitatively the most important bioaerosol component of indoor air associated with contaminated air-conditioning systems. rarely, indoor fungi may cause human infections, but more commonly allergenic responses ranging from pneumonitis to asthma-like symptoms. From all air conditioner filters analyzed, 16 fungal taxa were isolated and identified. Aspergillus fumigatus causes more lethal infections worldwide than any other mold. Air-conditioning filters that adsorb moisture and volatile organics appear to provide suitable substrates for fungal colonization. It is important to stress that fungal colonization of air-conditioning systems should not be ignored, especially in hospital environments.

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Genetic diversity among clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.65.8.3080-3085.1997 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 65 (8) ◽

pp. 3080-3085 ◽

Cited By ~ 107

Author(s):

J P Debeaupuis ◽

J Sarfati ◽

V Chazalet ◽

J P Latgé

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Environmental Isolates

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