Exploring genetic diversity, population structure, and phylogeography in Paracoccidioides species using AFLP markers.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a life-threatening systemic fungal infection acquired after inhalation of Paracoccidioides propagules from the environment. The main agents include members of the P. brasiliensis complex (phylogenetically-defined species S1, PS2, PS3, and PS4) and P. lutzii. DNA-sequencing of protein-coding loci (e.g., GP43, ARF, and TUB1) is the reference method for recognizing Paracoccidioides species due to a lack of robust phenotypic markers. Thus, developing new molecular markers that are informative and cost-effective is key to providing quality information to explore genetic diversity within Paracoccidioides. We report using new amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and mating-type analysis for genotyping Paracoccidioides species. The bioinformatic analysis generated 144 in silico AFLP profiles, highlighting two discriminatory primer pairs combinations (#1 EcoRI-AC/MseI-CT and #2 EcoRI-AT/MseI-CT). The combinations #1 and #2 were used in vitro to genotype 165 Paracoccidioides isolates recovered from across a vast area of South America. Considering the overall scored AFLP markers in vitro (67-87 fragments), the values of polymorphism information content (PIC = 0.3345-0.3456), marker index (MI = 0.0018), effective multiplex ratio (E = 44.6788-60.3818), resolving power (Rp = 22.3152-34.3152), discriminating power (D = 0.5183-0.5553), expected heterozygosity (H = 0.4247-0.4443), and mean heterozygosity (H avp  = 0.00002-0.00004), demonstrated the utility of AFLP markers to speciate Paracoccidioides and to dissect both deep and fine-scale genetic structures. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that the total genetic variance (65-66 %) was due to variability among P. brasiliensis complex and P. lutzii (PhiPT = 0.651-0.658, P < 0.0001), supporting a highly structured population. Heterothallism was the exclusive mating strategy, and the distributions of MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 idiomorphs were not significantly skewed (1:1 ratio) for P. brasiliensis s. str. (χ2 = 1.025; P = 0.3113), P. venezuelensis (χ2 = 0.692; P = 0.4054), and P. lutzii (χ2 = 0.027; P = 0.8694), supporting random mating within each species. In contrast, skewed distributions were found for P. americana (χ2 = 8.909; P = 0.0028) and P. restrepiensis (χ2 = 4.571; P = 0.0325) with a preponderance of MAT1-1. Geographical distributions confirmed that P. americana, P. restrepiensis, and P. lutzii are more widespread than previously thought. P. brasiliensis s. str. is by far the most widely occurring lineage in Latin America countries, occurring in all regions of Brazil. Our new DNA fingerprint assay proved to be rapid, reproducible, and highly discriminatory, to give insights into the taxonomy, ecology, and epidemiology of Paracoccidioides species, guiding disease-control strategies to mitigate PCM.

Yeasts and filamentous fungi in psittacidae and birds of prey droppings in midwest region of Brazil: a potential hazard to human health / Leveduras e fungos filamentosos em excretas de psittacideos e aves de rapina em cativeiro na região centro-oeste do Brasil: um risco potencial para a saúde humana

Abstract Birds of prey and from Psittacidae family are host to fungal microbiota and play an important role in the epidemiology of zoonoses. Few studies in the literature have characterized mycelial and yeast fungi in the droppings of these birds and correlated the isolates with the zoonotic potential of the microorganisms. Droppings from 149 birds were evaluated and divided into two groups: captive: Rhea americana araneipes, Primolius maracana, Ara ararauna, Ara chloropterus, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, Amazona aestiva, Ara macao macao, Ramphastos toco, Sarcoramphus papa, Busarellus nigricollis, Bubo virginianus nacurutu, Buteogallus coronatus, Buteogallus urubitinga urubitinga, Spizaetus melanoleucus, Spizaetus ornatus ornatus, Buteo albonotatus, Geranoaetus albicaudatus albicaudatus, Rupornis magnirostris magnirostris and Harpia harpyja, and quarantined birds: Amazona aestiva and Eupsitulla aurea. The fungal isolates were identified according to macroscopic (gross colony appearance), micromorphological and biochemical characteristics. Among birds displayed in enclosures, Aspergillus niger (41.1%) and Candida kefyr (63.8%) were the fungi most frequently isolated in Harpia harpyja and Ramphastos toco, respectively. For quarantined birds, the following percentages were observed in Eupsittula aurea , (76.6%) C. krusei, (84.4%) C. kefyr and (15.2%) C. famata, while in Amazona aestiva, (76.2%) C. krusei was observed. These findings indicate potentially pathogenic species in the bird droppings assessed, which constitute a risk of exposure for keepers and individuals who visit the zoo. Birds of the Cerrado and Pantanal of Mato Grosso (Central Western region of Brazil) could act in the epidemiological chain of important zoonoses.

Resumo Aves de rapina e psitacídeos são hospedeiras de uma rica microbiota fúngica e desempenham um papel importante na epidemiologia de zoonoses. Poucos estudos na literatura têm caracterizado fungos micelianos e leveduras nos excrementos de pássaros e correlacionados estes isolados com o potencial zoonótico dos microrganismos isolados. Excrementos de 149 aves foram divididas e avaliados em dois grupos: Em cativeiro: Rhea americana araneipes, Primolius maracana, Ara ararauna, Ara chloropterus, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, Amazona aestiva, Ara macao macao, Ramphastos toco, Sarcoramphus papa, Busarellus nigricollis , Bubo virginianus nacurutu, Buteogallus coronatus, Buteogallus urubutinga urubitinga, Spizaetus melanoleucus, Spizaetus ornatus ornatus, Buteo albonotatus, Geranoaetus albicaudatus albicaudatus, Rupornis magnirostris magnirostris e Harpia harpyja e aves em quarentena: Amazona aestiva e Eupsittula aurea). Os isolados de leveduras e de fungos micelianos foram identificados em observações macroscópicas (aspectos das colônias), características micromorfológicas e bioquímicas. Entre as aves indicadas em compartimentos, Aspergillus niger (41,1%) e Candida kefyr (63,8%) foram os fungos mais isolada em Harpia harpyja e Ramphastos toco, respectivamente. Para as aves em quarentena, os seguintes percentuais foram observados em Eupsittula aurea (76,6%) C. krusei, (84,4%) C. kefyr e (15,2%) C. famata, enquanto em Amazona aestiva (76,2%) de C. krusei foi observada. Estes resultados indicam a presença de espécies potencialmente patogênicos nas excretas das aves avaliadas, constituem um risco a exposição para os criadores e pessoas que visitam o zoológico. Aves do Pantanal e do Cerrado de Mato Grosso (região Centro-Oeste do Brasil) poderia atuar na cadeia epidemiológica das zoonoses importantes.

Species distribution and antifungal susceptibility of 358 Trichosporon clinical isolates collected in 24 medical centres.

OBJECTIVES: To provide species distribution and antifungal susceptibility profiles of 358 Trichosporon clinical isolates collected from 24 tertiary-care hospitals. METHODS: Species identification was performed by sequencing the IGS1 region of rDNA. Antifungal susceptibility testing for amphotericin B, fluconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole followed the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute reference method. Tentative epidemiologic cutoff values (97.5% ECVs) of antifungals for Trichosporon asahii were also calculated. RESULTS: Isolates were cultured mostly from urine (155/358, 43.3%) and blood (82/358, 23%) samples. Trichosporon asahii was the most common species (273/358, 76.3%), followed by T. inkin (35/358, 9.7%). Isolation of non-T. asahii species increased substantially over the last 11 years [11/77 (14.2%) from 1997 to 2007 vs. 74/281, (26.3%) from 2008 to 2018, p0.03]. Antifungal susceptibility testing showed high amphotericin B minimum inhibitory concentrations against Trichosporon isolates, with higher values for T. faecale. The ECV for amphotericin B and T. asahii was set at 4 µg/mL. Among the triazole derivatives, fluconazole was the least active drug. The ECVs for fluconazole and posaconazole against T. asahii were set at 8 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. Voriconazole showed the strongest in vitro activity against the Trichosporon isolates; its ECV for T. asahii was set at 0.25 µg/mL after 48 hours' incubation. CONCLUSIONS: Trichosporon species diversity has increased over the years in human samples, and antifungal susceptibility profiles were species specific. Trichosporon asahii antifungal ECVs were proposed, which may be helpful to guide antifungal therapy.

Natural infection by Culex flavivirus in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes captured in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso Mid-Western Brazil.

New species of insect-specific viruses (ISV) have been reported worldwide. In the present study, the complete genome of Culex flavivirus (CxFV) and partial sequences of other ISVs in Culex quinquefasciatus Say 1823 females (n = 3425) sampled in 200 urban areas census tracts of Cuiaba, state of Mato Grosso, were identified via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for a NS5 region of flaviviruses, nucleotide and high-throughput sequencing, and viral isolation in C6/36 cells. CxFV was detected in 16 of 403 mosquito pools; sequences found in the study presented a high similarity with isolates from São Paulo, Brazil and other countries in Latin American that belong to genotype II, supporting the geographical influence on CxFV evolution. The monthly maximum likelihood estimation for CxFV ranged from 1.81 to 9.94 per 1000 mosquitoes. In addition to the CxFV complete genome, one pool contained an ORF1 sequence (756 bp) that belongs to a novel Negevirus from the Sandewavirus supergroup most similar to the Santana virus (77.1%) and another pool presented an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase sequence (1081 bp) of a novel Rhabdovirus most similar to Wuhan mosquito virus 9 (44%). After three passages in C6/36 cells, only CxFV was isolated from these co-infected pools. The importance of ISVs relies on their possible ability to interfere with arbovirus replication in competent vectors.

Yeasts and filamentous fungi in psittacidae and birds of prey droppings in midwest region of Brazil: a potential hazard to human health.

Birds of prey and from Psittacidae family are host to fungal microbiota and play an important role in the epidemiology of zoonoses. Few studies in the literature have characterized mycelial and yeast fungi in the droppings of these birds and correlated the isolates with the zoonotic potential of the microorganisms. Droppings from 149 birds were evaluated and divided into two groups: captive: Rhea americana araneipes, Primolius maracana, Ara ararauna, Ara chloropterus, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, Amazona aestiva, Ara macao macao, Ramphastos toco, Sarcoramphus papa, Busarellus nigricollis, Bubo virginianus nacurutu, Buteogallus coronatus, Buteogallus urubitinga urubitinga, Spizaetus melanoleucus, Spizaetus ornatus ornatus, Buteo albonotatus, Geranoaetus albicaudatus albicaudatus, Rupornis magnirostris magnirostris and Harpia harpyja, and quarantined birds: Amazona aestiva and Eupsitulla aurea. The fungal isolates were identified according to macroscopic (gross colony appearance), micromorphological and biochemical characteristics. Among birds displayed in enclosures, Aspergillus niger (41.1%) and Candida kefyr (63.8%) were the fungi most frequently isolated in Harpia harpyja and Ramphastos toco, respectively. For quarantined birds, the following percentages were observed in Eupsittula aurea , (76.6%) C. krusei, (84.4%) C. kefyr and (15.2%) C. famata, while in Amazona aestiva, (76.2%) C. krusei was observed. These findings indicate potentially pathogenic species in the bird droppings assessed, which constitute a risk of exposure for keepers and individuals who visit the zoo. Birds of the Cerrado and Pantanal of Mato Grosso (Central Western region of Brazil) could act in the epidemiological chain of important zoonoses.

Oral colonization: a possible source for candidemia in low-weight neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To check the oral colonization in neonates at high-risk and to associate these cases with candidemia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in the NICU. For six months, 125 high-risk neonates were investigated for oral colonization and septicemia by yeasts. From this total, 19 neonates had yeasts on the oral mucosae and 12 neonates developed fungemia. All of the 12 neonates with fungemia were included in the amount of 19 who have presented oral colonization by yeasts. RESULTS: There was a species concordance between the yeasts of the oral mucosae and the blood in 6 neonates (50%) among the 12 neonates with oral colonization and septicemia at the same time. The yeasts isolated in these 6 cases regarding the species concordance were Candida albicans (5 cases, 83.4%) and Candida parapsilosis (1 case, 16.6%). All of the cases involving an association were confirmed by PFGE. All of the strains of yeasts involved in oral colonization and also blood presented the same karyotype. A total of 66.6% of the patients with strains in agreement progressed to death. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the relevance of monitoring the oral microbiota, as a possible source of fungal infection, and assisting to develop appropriate therapeutic strategy.

Factors associated with the prevalence of Malassezia species in the external ears of cattle from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Swabs collected from the external ears of 942 cattle, including both European and zebu breeds, were used to evaluate the epidemiology of Malassezia species. High numbers of Malassezia isolates were significantly associated with maturity of the animals and with diagnosed otitis. In healthy animals, a particularly low prevalence of the genus was found in Holstein cows, especially in the summer months, a finding perhaps correlating with the open, air-exposed ears of this breed. Pendutlous-eared zebu breeds and hybrids had higher levels of colonization, although this effect was more pronounced in humid regions, and was least in the dry north and west of the state. The most common species seen was M. sympodialis, which accounted for 47.1% of isolates from healthy cattle and 39.1% from cattle with otitis. In cattle with otitis sampled in summer, we found that the relatively thermotolerant M. sympodialis made up 80.8% of isolates. By contrast, during the winter the less thermotolerant M. globosa was the most common species from otitis, making up 56% of the isolates. Humidity and temperature may be the main factors explaining the epidemiology of Malassezia diseases and colonizations in both animals and humans.

In vitro comparison of activities of terbinafine and itraconazole against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

In vitro, terbinafine is highly active against a broad spectrum of pathogenic fungi. We evaluated the activities of terbinafine and itraconazole against 31 isolates of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The tests were conducted by using a broth macrodilution procedure. MICs, in micrograms per milliliter, were as follows: terbinafine, 0.015 to 1.0 (geometric mean, 0.1188); itraconazole, 0.007 to 0.5 (geometric mean, 0.03165). The usual therapy for paracoccidioidomycosis is sulfonamides, amphotericin B, and azole derivatives (ketoconazole, itraconazole, and fluconazole). In comparison to amphotericin B, azole derivatives allow shorter treatment courses, can be administered orally, and are equally effective. Itraconazole has as high efficacy as ketoconazole, but with superior tolerance. It is the current drug of choice for treatment of paracoccidioidomycosis. The data obtained in this study indicate that terbinafine is active against P. brasiliensis in vitro and suggest that this allylamine can be considered a new option as drug therapy for paracoccidioidomycosis.

Effects of amphotericin B and three azole derivatives on the lipids of yeast cells of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

Yeast cells of five different strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis were obtained for partial analysis of lipid composition, and sterol content was determined quantitatively and qualitatively. The determinations were conducted with cells cultured in the presence and absence of amphotericin B and azole derivatives at levels below the MIC.

In vitro susceptibilities of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis yeast form to antifungal drugs.

A total of 12 Paracoccidioides brasiliensis yeast form strains, including clinical and environmental isolates, were tested for their susceptibilities to amphotericin B, ketoconazole, fluconazole, and itraconazole. The tests were determined using a broth macrodilution procedure. In general, there was a remarkable homogeneity of results for all strains, and comparable MICs were found for environmental and clinical isolates.

Prevalence of Malassezia spp. in the ears of asymptomatic cattle and cattle with otitis in Brazil.

Yeasts of the genus Malassezia are lipophilic microorganisms that are saprophytes that can act as opportunistic pathogens in animals. Malassezia pachydermatis is commonly isolated from the ear canal and skin of healthy dogs, or in association with seborrheic dermatitis and otitis externa conditions. The objective of the present study was to determine the occurrence of Malassezia spp. in the ears of healthy bovines and bovines with otitis. Specimens (secretion or cerumen) were collected with sterile swabs, inoculated onto Mycosel medium, supplemented with olive oil, and incubated at 35 degrees C for 1 week. Yeasts were identified according to morphological characteristics, growth in Dixon medium at 32 degrees C and Sabouraud glucose medium modified by the addition of Tween 20, 40 or 80. The results showed that 54.7% of the cultures were positive in bovines with otitis (75) and 34.6% were positive in healthy bovines (378). Analysis of the positive cultures (41) from animals with otitis allowed presumptive identification of 24 strains corresponding to M. globosa (12), M. slooffiae (5), M. furfur (5) and M. sympodialis (2). Further studies on a larger number of animals may confirm the trend verified thus far, i.e. a higher frequency of isolation of Malassezia spp. from animals with otitis than from healthy animals (P<0.01) and a predominance of the species M. globosa.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-rated depression and the incidence of breast cancer.

Using data from the Walnut Creek Contraceptive Drug Study (a prospective study begun in 1969 and continuing to the present), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-(MMPI) measured scores for depression of 8932 women were studied in relation to the incidence of breast cancer. No statistically significant association between MMPI scores for depression and the subsequent development of breast cancer was found. There was neither an association of risk of breast cancer with repression/sensitization as measured on the MMPI nor with scores on the MMPI lie scale. This study is unique because it represents the largest reported prospective cohort in which the association between depression and breast cancer development has been examined.

Ten-color Gegenschein-zodiacal light photometer.

A ten-color Fabry photometer was used during Skylab missions SL-2 and SL-3 to measure sky brightness and polarization associated with zodiacal light, background starlight, F region airglow, and spacecraft corona. A brief description is given of the design, calibration, and performance of the instrument.