Biological Activity of Gold Nanoparticles towards Filamentous Pathogenic Fungi

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geovana Dagostim Savi ◽  
Marcos Marques da Silva Paula ◽  
Jonathann Corrêa Possato ◽  
Tatiana Barichello ◽  
Denise Castagnaro ◽  
...  

Gold nanoparticles (GNP) were synthesized, characterized and their antifungal activities investigated against three pathogenic fungi of different genera and species (Fusarium verticillioides,Penicillium citrinumandAspergillus flavus). The anti-fungi treatments efficiency of the GNP (concentrations: 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg L-1in PDA media) were evaluated at 2, 4, 6 and 8 days after incubation by measuring the diameter of fungal colonies and investigating fungi structure alterations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that the GNP concentration increased, fungal colony growth diameter reduced. However, the highest GNP concentration applied in the experiment was not able to completely inhibit fungal growth. The SEM analysis of the fungi structure Au treated showed damaged hyphae and unusual bulges that were not observed in fungi that growth on medium without treatment (Control). Although up to the highest concentration of GNP media applied did not completely inhibited fungi growth, the hyphae modifications led growth reduction which could influence the toxins production by these fungi.

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 737
Author(s):  
Marina Pekmezovic ◽  
Melina Kalagasidis Krusic ◽  
Ivana Malagurski ◽  
Jelena Milovanovic ◽  
Karolina Stępień ◽  
...  

Novel biodegradable and biocompatible formulations of “old” but “gold” drugs such as nystatin (Nys) and amphotericin B (AmB) were made using a biopolymer as a matrix. Medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) were used to formulate both polyenes (Nys and AmB) in the form of films (~50 µm). Thermal properties and stability of the materials were not significantly altered by the incorporation of polyenes in mcl-PHA, but polyene containing materials were more hydrophobic. These formulations were tested in vitro against a panel of pathogenic fungi and for antibiofilm properties. The films containing 0.1 to 2 weight % polyenes showed good activity and sustained polyene release for up to 4 days. A PHA monomer, namely 3-hydroxydecanoic acid (C10-OH), was added to the films to achieve an enhanced synergistic effect with polyenes against fungal growth. Mcl-PHA based polyene formulations showed excellent growth inhibitory activity against both Candida yeasts (C. albicans ATCC 1023, C. albicans SC5314 (ATCC MYA-2876), C. parapsilosis ATCC 22019) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC 13073; Trichophyton mentagrophytes ATCC 9533, Microsporum gypseum ATCC 24102). All antifungal PHA film preparations prevented the formation of a C. albicans biofilm, while they were not efficient in eradication of mature biofilms, rendering them suitable for the transdermal application or as coatings of implants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2435
Author(s):  
Marzia Beccaccioli ◽  
Manuel Salustri ◽  
Valeria Scala ◽  
Matteo Ludovici ◽  
Andrea Cacciotti ◽  
...  

Fusarium verticillioides causes multiple diseases of Zea mays (maize) including ear and seedling rots, contaminates seeds and seed products worldwide with toxic chemicals called fumonisins. The role of fumonisins in disease is unclear because, although they are not required for ear rot, they are required for seedling diseases. Disease symptoms may be due to the ability of fumonisins to inhibit ceramide synthase activity, the expected cause of lipids (fatty acids, oxylipins, and sphingolipids) alteration in infected plants. In this study, we explored the impact of fumonisins on fatty acid, oxylipin, and sphingolipid levels in planta and how these changes affect F. verticillioides growth in maize. The identity and levels of principal fatty acids, oxylipins, and over 50 sphingolipids were evaluated by chromatography followed by mass spectrometry in maize infected with an F. verticillioides fumonisin-producing wild-type strain and a fumonisin-deficient mutant, after different periods of growth. Plant hormones associated with defense responses, i.e., salicylic and jasmonic acid, were also evaluated. We suggest that fumonisins produced by F. verticillioides alter maize lipid metabolism, which help switch fungal growth from a relatively harmless endophyte to a destructive necrotroph.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis J. Osonga ◽  
Ali Akgul ◽  
Idris Yazgan ◽  
Ayfer Akgul ◽  
Gaddi B. Eshun ◽  
...  

Plant-based pathogenic microbes hinder the yield and quality of food production. Plant diseases have caused an increase in food costs due to crop destruction. There is a need to develop novel methods that can target and mitigate pathogenic microbes. This study focuses on investigating the effects of luteolin tetraphosphate derived silver nanoparticles (LTP-AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (LTP-AuNPs) as a therapeutic agent on the growth and expression of plant-based bacteria and fungi. In this study, the silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature using luteolin tetraphosphate (LTP) as the reducing and capping agents. The synthesis of LTP-AgNPs and LTP-AuNP was characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and size distribution. The TEM images of both LTP-AgNPs and LTP-AuNPs showed different sizes and shapes (spherical, quasi-spherical, and cuboidal). The antimicrobial test was conducted using fungi: Aspergillus nidulans, Trichaptum biforme, Penicillium italicum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, while the class of bacteria employed include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, and Citrobacter freundii as Gram (−) bacteria, and Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus epidermidis as Gram (+) bacterium. The antifungal study demonstrated the selective size and shape-dependent capabilities in which smaller sized spherical (9 nm) and quasi-spherical (21 nm) AgNPs exhibited 100% inhibition of the tested fungi and bacteria. The LTP-AgNPs exhibited a higher antimicrobial activity than LTP-AuNPs. We have demonstrated that smaller sized AgNPs showed excellent inhibition of A. nidulans growth compared to the larger size nanoparticles. These results suggest that LTP-AuNP and LTP-AgNPs could be used to address the detection and remediation of pathogenic fungi, respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8681
Author(s):  
Nicolò Orsoni ◽  
Francesca Degola ◽  
Luca Nerva ◽  
Franco Bisceglie ◽  
Giorgio Spadola ◽  
...  

As key players in biotic stress response of plants, jasmonic acid (JA) and its derivatives cover a specific and prominent role in pathogens-mediated signaling and hence are promising candidates for a sustainable management of phytopathogenic fungi. Recently, JA directed antimicrobial effects on plant pathogens has been suggested, supporting the theory of oxylipins as double gamers in plant-pathogen interaction. Based on these premises, six derivatives (dihydrojasmone and cis-jasmone, two thiosemicarbazonic derivatives and their corresponding complexes with copper) have been evaluated against 13 fungal species affecting various economically important herbaceous and woody crops, such as cereals, grapes and horticultural crops: Phaeoacremonium minimum, Neofusicoccum parvum, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Fomitiporia mediterranea, Fusarium poae, F. culmorum, F. graminearum, F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae,F. sporotrichioides, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizoctonia solani,Sclerotinia spp. and Verticillium dahliae. The biological activity of these compounds was assessed in terms of growth inhibition and, for the two mycotoxigenic species A. flavus and F. sporotrichioides, also in terms of toxin containment. As expected, the inhibitory effect of molecules greatly varied amongst both genera and species; cis-jasmone thiosemicarbazone in particular has shown the wider range of effectiveness. However, our results show that thiosemicarbazones derivatives are more effective than the parent ketones in limiting fungal growth and mycotoxins production, supporting possible applications for the control of pathogenic fungi.


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1091-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Steinbach ◽  
Robert A. Cramer ◽  
B. Zachary Perfect ◽  
Yohannes G. Asfaw ◽  
Theodor C. Sauer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Calcineurin is implicated in a myriad of human diseases as well as homeostasis and virulence in several major human pathogenic microorganisms. The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is a leading cause of infectious death in the rapidly expanding immunocompromised patient population. Current antifungal treatments for invasive aspergillosis are often ineffective, and novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. We demonstrate that a mutant of A. fumigatus lacking the calcineurin A (cnaA) catalytic subunit exhibited defective hyphal morphology related to apical extension and polarized growth, which resulted in drastically decreased filamentation. The ΔcnaA mutant lacked the extensive lattice of invading hyphae seen with the wild-type and complemented strains. Sporulation was also affected in the ΔcnaA mutant, including morphological conidial defects with the absence of surface rodlets and the added presence of disjunctors creating long conidial chains. Infection with the ΔcnaA mutant in several distinct animal models with different types of immunosuppression and inoculum delivery led to a profound attenuation of pathogenicity compared to infection with the wild-type and complemented strains. Lung tissue from animals infected with the ΔcnaA mutant showed a complete absence of hyphae, in contrast to tissue from animals infected with the wild-type and complemented strains. Quantitative fungal burden and pulmonary infarct scoring confirmed these findings. Our results support the clinical observation that substantially decreasing fungal growth can prevent disease establishment and decrease mortality. Our findings reveal that calcineurin appears to play a globally conserved role in the virulence of several pathogenic fungi and yet plays specialized roles in each and can be an excellent target for therapeutic intervention.


1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Frändberg ◽  
Johan Schnürer

Chitinolytic bacteria are used as biocontrol agents of plant pathogenic fungi. They might also potentially inhibit growth of molds, e.g., Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp., in stored plant material. We isolated chitinolytic bacteria from airtight stored cereal grain and evaluated their antifungal capacity. Between 0.01 and 0.5% of the total aerobic counts were chitinolytic bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria, mainly Pseudomonadaceae, constituted approximately 80% of the chitinolytic population. Gram-positive isolates belonged predominantly to the Corynebacterium-Arthrobacter group, Streptomyces, and Bacillus. Chitinolytic activity was evaluated using culture filtrates from chitin-grown isolates as the release of p-nitrophenol from p-nitrophenyl N,N'-diacetylchitobiose and as the formation of clearing zones on chitin agar. No correlation between chitinolytic activity and antifungal effects was found when challenging Penicillium roqueforti Dierckx with bacterial isolates on chitin agar in a dual culture bioassay. Fungal hyphae frequently grew seemingly unaffected through the bacterial colony of a high chitinase producer on colloidal chitin. Only 4% of the chitinolytic isolates had strong effects on fungal growth. Among these, Streptomyces halstedii (K122) and Streptomyces coelicolor (K139) inhibited growth of a broad range of fungi. Streptomyces halstedii affected hyphal morphology and decreased the radial growth rate of all fungi investigated. These effects were not caused by volatile metabolites, polyenes, or N-carbamoyl-D-glucosamine.Key words: antifungal, chitinase, Streptomyces halstedii, Streptomyces coelicolor.


Author(s):  
Zahra Salehi ◽  
Azam Fattahi ◽  
Ensieh lotfali ◽  
Abdolhassan Kazemi ◽  
Ali Shakeri-Zadeh ◽  
...  

Purpose: The present study was performed to examine whether caspofungin-coated gold nanoparticles (CAS-AuNPs) may offer the right platform for sensitivity induction in resistant isolates. Methods: For the purpose of the study, a total of 58 archived Candida species were enrolled in the research. The identification of Candida spp. was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and HWP1 gene amplification approaches. The conjugated CAS-AuNPs were synthesized and then characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Zetasizer system to determine their morphology, size, and charge. Furthermore, the efficacy of CAS, CAS-AuNPs conjugate, and AuNPs against Candida spp. was assessed based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M60. Finally, the interaction of CAS-AuNPs with Candida element was evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results: According to the TEM results, the synthesized CAS-AuNPs had a spherical shape with an average size of 20 nm. The Zeta potential of CAS-AuNPs was -38.2 mV. Statistical analyses showed that CAS-AuNPs could significantly reduce the minimum inhibitory concentration against C. albicans (P=0.0005) and non-albicans Candida (NAC) species (P<0.0001). All isolates had a MIC value of ≥ 4 µg/ml for CAS, except for C. glabrata. The results of SEM analysis confirmed the effects of AuNPs on the membrane and cell wall structure of C. globrata exposed to CAS-AuNPs, facilitating the formation of pores on the cell wall and finally cell death. Conclusion: The findings revealed that CAS-AuNPs conjugates had significant antifungal effects against Candida spp. through the degradation of the membrane and cell wall integrity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the encapsulation of antifungal drugs in combination with NPs not only diminishes side effects but also enhances the effectiveness of the medications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. e51656
Author(s):  
Nara Priscila Barbosa Bravim ◽  
Anatércia Ferreira Alves ◽  
José Fábio França Orlanda ◽  
Patricia Barbosa Rodrigues Silva

The objective of the present study was to isolate fungi from agricultural soils and evaluate fungal growth in culture medium contaminated with atrazine, glyphosate and pendimethalin. Filamentous fungi were isolated from agricultural soils and cultured in a modified culture medium containing 0, 10, 20, 50, and 100 μg mL-1 atrazine, glyphosate and pendimethalin for 14 days at 28°C. The fungi that presented optimal and satisfactory growth were plated in Sabouraud culture medium with 4% dextrose and containing the herbicides at concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 50, and 100 μg mL-1 for seven days at 28°C. The mean mycelial growth values were submitted to analysis of variance and the Tukey test (p < 0.05%) for comparison and relative growth determination, and maximum inhibition rates were calculated. The isolated fungi Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium verticillioides and Penicillium citrinum were shown to be resistant to atrazine, glyphosate and pendimethalin. F. verticillioides showed higher mean mycelial growth in the culture media contaminated with atrazine and glyphosate than the other two fungi. In the culture medium contaminated with pendimethalin, F. verticillioides, and A. fumigatus presented the highest mean mycelial growth values.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-102
Author(s):  
Anatoliy Sergeevich Shumilov ◽  
Sergey Alexandrovich Blagodatsky

The aim of this work was to simulate the growth and spatial structure of the fungal mycelium using a cellular automaton based on the synthesis of various model approaches. The spatial structure of the mycelium is described in the structural submodel of the cellular automaton, which determines the growth rate in the direction of larger resource amount and the number of branches of the mycelium per area unit. The amount of available substrate determines the probability of unidirectional apical growth. Another, biochemical part of the model allows us to describe the rate of transport of resources into the cell, their transport within the mycelium, and also their excretion, and is intended to describe the vertical and horizontal migration in the soil of two nutrients. The proposed model makes it possible to quantitatively describe such a feature of fungal colony growth as more active absorption of resources by external cells, compared to central ones due to separation of transport resources into active and passive resources. The active transport was described using the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. We were able to simulate the stockpiling of surplus resources and their redistribution over the mycelium after the exhaustion of reserves in the external environment, and also to simulate typical growth patterns of mycelial colonies that were observed in experiments published in the literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29

Based on the global environmental pollution problems, the main focus of every nano-research is to produce the nanomaterial in a green and eco-friendly way without any interference of chemical synthesis. By the way, the present study was intended to use an aqueous extract of the living fossil plant viz., Ginkgo biloba L., to synthesize the gold nanoparticles and evaluate their antibiotic activity against bacterial pathogens. The gold nanoparticles (AuNps) were successfully synthesized by mixing the Ginkgo biloba aqueous extract and the auric chloride solution for approximately 24 hours. The UV-Vis spectra of Gold nanoparticles (AuNps) showed the maximum absorption peak at 520nm. The SEM analysis also showed the gold nanoparticles synthesized from Ginkgo biloba were spherical with particle size ranging from 40 to 60nm. During our study, the gold nanoparticles exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against bacterial pathogens, i.e., E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. The later bacterium was found to be more susceptible to the nanoparticles as well as the extracts of G. biloba in comparison to the former bacterium.


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