Alkaline Serine Proteinase Is a Major Allergen of Aspergillus flavus, a Prevalent Airborne Aspergillus Species in the Taipei Area

1999 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Chou ◽  
Win-Ling Lin ◽  
Ming F. Tam ◽  
Soo-Ray Wang ◽  
Shou-Hwa Han ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 383
Author(s):  
Premila Narayana Achar ◽  
Pham Quyen ◽  
Emmanuel C. Adukwu ◽  
Abhishek Sharma ◽  
Huggins Zephaniah Msimanga ◽  
...  

Aspergillus species are known to cause damage to food crops and are associated with opportunistic infections in humans. In the United States, significant losses have been reported in peanut production due to contamination caused by the Aspergillus species. This study evaluated the antifungal effect and anti-aflatoxin activity of selected plant-based essential oils (EOs) against Aspergillus flavus in contaminated peanuts, Tifguard, runner type variety. All fifteen essential oils, tested by the poisoned food technique, inhibited the growth of A. flavus at concentrations ranging between 125 and 4000 ppm. The most effective oils with total clearance of the A. flavus on agar were clove (500 ppm), thyme (1000 ppm), lemongrass, and cinnamon (2000 ppm) EOs. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of clove EO revealed eugenol (83.25%) as a major bioactive constituent. An electron microscopy study revealed that clove EO at 500 ppm caused noticeable morphological and ultrastructural alterations of the somatic and reproductive structures. Using both the ammonia vapor (AV) and coconut milk agar (CMA) methods, we not only detected the presence of an aflatoxigenic form of A. flavus in our contaminated peanuts, but we also observed that aflatoxin production was inhibited by clove EO at concentrations between 500 and 2000 ppm. In addition, we established a correlation between the concentration of clove EO and AFB1 production by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We demonstrate in our study that clove oil could be a promising natural fungicide for an effective bio-control, non-toxic bio-preservative, and an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic additives against A. flavus in Georgia peanuts.


Author(s):  
Gordana Dimic ◽  
Suncica Kocic-Tanackov ◽  
Dragana Karalic

The antifungal activity of spice extracts obtained from caraway seed, garlic and origanum was tested against antifungal activity of Eurotium herbariorum E. amstelodami, Aspergillus flavus and A. sydowii. Caraway seed extract has been proved to possess the highest inhibitory effect on all investigated mould species. The concentrations of caraway extract, sufficient to inhibit the growth completely were: 0,5% for E. herbariorum, E. amstelodami and A. sydowii, and 1% for A. flavus; of garlic, 1% for Eurotium spp. and 2% for A. sydowii, and of origanum, 1% for E. herbariorum and 2% for E. amstelodami. The results of colonies diameter measuring showed that garlic and origanum extracts have no significant suppressing ability on micellar growth of A. flavus, while garlic was more efficient in other test cultures.


Author(s):  
E. D. Fagbohun ◽  
K. J. Ayantola ◽  
A. J. Toyin-Famoroti

Aim: The study was carried out to isolate and identify Aspergillus species from commercial birds with suspected aspergillosis in the poultry farms within Ado Ekiti metropolis Nigeria.  Place and Period of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti, Nigeria in August 2016. Methodology: A total of 35 sick/suspected birds were collected randomly from three poultry farms. At Ago-Aduloju poultry farms, 15 samples were randomly collected from 1000 birds while at Ekiti State University poultry farms, 10 samples were randomly collected from 500 birds. At Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti poultry farms, 10 samples were randomly collected from 700 birds. The bird’s selection was on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, weight loss, drooping of wings and exercise intolerance. Swab samples were collected from each suspected/sick bird for mycological culture and molecular characterization of the isolates from each bird was carried out. The isolates were identified based on the color of the culture on Potato Dextrose Agar and microscopic examination. Molecular identification was done using 23S Ribosomal RNA Gene and Partial Sequence. Results: Six fungal strains that showed similar morphological and cultural characteristics of Aspergillus species were isolated. The isolates were coded ASP 1, ASP 2, ASP 3, ASP 4, ASP 5, and ASP 6. The identified organisms were; Aspergillus fumigatus qH 107 (ASP 1), Aspergillus fumigatus qH 107 (ASP 2), Aspergillus flavus M09 (ASP 3), Aspergillus flavus UOMS6 (ASP 4), Aspergillus fumigatus qH 107 (ASP 5), Aspergillus flavus qH 107 (ASP 6). Conclusion: It is evident that Aspergillus species were predominant in poultry farms selected in this study. Necessary precaution should be put in place to prevent the spread of aspergillosis. Poultry farmers are advised to avoid damp environments, moldy feeds, dry and dusty litters. Adequate ventilation should always be provided in poultry farms to prevent Aspergillosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rouein ◽  
Fatemeh Ghasemi ◽  
Parisa Badiee

Background: Catalase enzyme is a potential virulence factor for Aspergillus species. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the catalase activity in conidium and mycelium of Aspergillus flavus and A. fumigatus isolated from environmental and clinical samples. Methods: Forty Aspergillus species (20 A. fumigatus and 20 A. flavus) were evaluated. Species were identified using the macroscopic and microscopic criteria of the isolates on culture media and the PCR-RFLP method, using the MwoI enzyme. The activity of the enzyme was evaluated using the Amplex red catalase assay kit. The Shapiro Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean conidial and mycelial catalase activities in A. flavus clinical and environmental isolates were 58.10, 57.80 mU/mL, and 1328.30, 531.60 mU/mL, respectively. In A. fumigatus clinical and environmental isolates, the activities were 61.10 and 61.40 mU/mL, and 1248.90 and 722.90 mU/mL, respectively. A significant difference was found between conidial and mycelial catalase activity in Aspergillus species (P = 0.01). The mycelial catalase activity of Aspergillus species isolated from clinical samples was higher than the environmental ones (A. flavus P = 0.01 and A. fumigatus P = 0.04). Conclusions: The mycelial catalase activity was higher than conidia. Clinical isolates of A. flavus had similar mycelium activity to A. fumigatus. By using the information provided in the present study, the severity of aspergillosis can be predicted, which paves the way for identifying new antifungal agents.


2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 951-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce W Horn

Soil is a reservoir for Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, fungi that commonly colonize peanut seeds and produce carcinogenic aflatoxins. Densities of these fungi in soil vary greatly among fields and may influence the severity of peanut infection. This study examined the relationship between soil density of Aspergillus species and the incidence of peanut seed colonization under laboratory conditions. Viable peanut seeds were wounded and inoculated with 20 soils differing in composition and density of Aspergillus species and were then incubated for 14 days at 37 °C (seed water activity = 0.92). The effect of soil density of individual section Flavi species (A. flavus strains L and S, A. parasiticus, A. caelatus, and A. tamarii), section Nigri, and A. terreus on the incidence of seed colonization was best expressed as a function of exponential rise to maximum. Exponential curves often rose to maximum percentages of seed colonization by section Flavi species that were well below 100% despite high species densities in some soils. Competition primarily among section Flavi species may explain the reduced incidences of seed colonization. An average of two or fewer propagules of each Aspergillus species in the soil at the wound site was required for colonization of 20% of peanut seeds. Other fungal species were capable of invading peanut seeds only when soil densities of sections Flavi and Nigri species were low.Key words: aflatoxin, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, fungal competition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Fadia S. Youssef ◽  
Abdel Nasser B. Singab

The secondary metabolites and biological activities of Aspergillus ruber and Aspergillus flavus were comprehensively reported. About 70 compounds were isolated from both species that belong to different classes using conventional and advanced chromatographic techniques and unambiguously elucidated employing one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (1D and 2D NMR) and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Some of them displayed promising antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. In silico studies were conducted on human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2), human DNA topoisomerase II (TOP-2), and matrix metalloprotinase 13 (MMP-13) in an effort to explore the cytotoxic potential of the diverse compounds obtained from both Aspergillus species. 1,6,8-Trihydroxy-4-benzoyloxy-3-methylanthraquinone (23) revealed the most firm fitting with the active pockets of CDK-2 and MMP-13; meanwhile, variecolorin H alkaloid (14) showed the highest fitting within TOP-2 with ∆G equals to −36.51 kcal/mole. Thus, fungal metabolites could offer new drug entities for combating cancer. Relevant data about both Aspergillus species up to August 2020 were gathered from various databases comprising Scifinder (https://scifinder.cas.org/scifinder/login) for secondary metabolite-related studies; meanwhile, for biology-related articles, data were collected from both PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) and Web of Knowledge (http://www.webofknowledge.com) as well.


2003 ◽  
Vol 309 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somporn Tanskul ◽  
Kohei Oda ◽  
Hiroshi Oyama ◽  
Napavarn Noparatnaraporn ◽  
Masahiko Tsunemi ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misako Aoyama ◽  
Claudia Toma ◽  
Masaaki Yasuda ◽  
Masaaki Iwanaga

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