Selective isolation of agents of chromoblastomycosis from insect-associated environmental sources

Publication date: Available online 12 February 2020Source: Fungal BiologyAuthor(s): Bruna Jacomel Favoreto De Souza Lima, Morgana Ferreira Voidaleski, Renata Rodrigues Gomes, Gheniffer Fornari, Jade Mariane Barbosa Soares, Amanda Bombassaro, Gabriela Xavier Schneider, Bruna Da Silva Soley, Conceição de Maria Pedrozo e Silva De Azevedo, Cristiano Menezes, Leandro Ferreira Moreno, Derlene Attili-Angelis, Débora Do Rocio Klisiowicz, Sybren De Hoog, Vânia Aparecida VicenteAbstractChromoblastomycosis is a neglected disease characterized by cutaneous, subcutaneous, or disseminated lesions. It is considered an occupational infectious disease that affects mostly rural workers exposed to contaminated soil and vegetal matter. Lesions mostly arise after a traumatic inoculation of herpotrichiellaceous fungi from the Chaetothyriales order. However, the environmental niche of the agents of the disease remains obscure. Its association with insects has been predicted in a few studies. Therefore, the present work aimed to analyze if social insects, specifically ants, bees, and termites, provide a suitable habitat for the fungi concerned. The mineral oil flotation method was used to isolate the microorganisms. Nine isolates were recovered and phylogenetic analysis identified two strains as potential agents of chromoblastomycosis, i.e., Fonsecaea pedrosoi CMRP 3076, obtained from a termite nest (n=1) and Rhinocladiella similis CMRP 3079 from an ant exoskeleton (n=1). In addition, we also id...
Source: Fungal Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: research