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Dong AZ, Cokcetin N, Carter DA, Fernandes KE. Unique antimicrobial activity in honey from the Australian honeypot ant ( Camponotus inflatus). PeerJ 2023; 11:e15645. [PMID: 37520253 PMCID: PMC10386826 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey produced by the Australian honeypot ant (Camponotus inflatus) is valued nutritionally and medicinally by Indigenous peoples, but its antimicrobial activity has never been formally studied. Here, we determine the activity of honeypot ant honey (HPAH) against a panel of bacterial and fungal pathogens, investigate its chemical properties, and profile the bacterial and fungal microbiome of the honeypot ant for the first time. We found HPAH to have strong total activity against Staphylococcus aureus but not against other bacteria, and strong non-peroxide activity against Cryptococcus and Aspergillus sp. When compared with therapeutic-grade jarrah and manuka honey produced by honey bees, we found HPAH to have a markedly different antimicrobial activity and chemical properties, suggesting HPAH has a unique mode of antimicrobial action. We found the bacterial microbiome of honeypot ants to be dominated by the known endosymbiont genus Candidatus Blochmannia (99.75%), and the fungal microbiome to be dominated by the plant-associated genus Neocelosporium (92.77%). This study demonstrates that HPAH has unique antimicrobial characteristics that validate its therapeutic use by Indigenous peoples and may provide a lead for the discovery of novel antimicrobial compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Z. Dong
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Nural Cokcetin
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Dee A. Carter
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Kenya E. Fernandes
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
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Patiño LH, Muñoz M, Ramírez AL, Vélez N, Escandón P, Parra-Giraldo CM, Ramírez JD. A Landscape of the Genomic Structure of Cryptococcus neoformans in Colombian Isolates. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9020135. [PMID: 36836249 PMCID: PMC9959405 DOI: 10.3390/jof9020135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes are recognized as environmental fungi responsible for lethal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. Despite the vast knowledge about the epidemiology and genetic diversity of this fungus in different regions of the world, more studies are necessary to comprehend the genomic profiles across South America, including Colombia, considered to be the second country with the highest number of Cryptococcosis. Here, we sequenced and analyzed the genomic architecture of 29 Colombian C. neoformans isolates and evaluated the phylogenetic relationship of these strains with publicly available C. neoformans genomes. The phylogenomic analysis showed that 97% of the isolates belonged to the VNI molecular type and the presence of sub-lineages and sub-clades. We evidenced a karyotype without changes, a low number of genes with copy number variations, and a moderate number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Additionally, a difference in the number of SNPs between the sub-lineages/sub-clades was observed; some were involved in crucial fungi biological processes. Our study demonstrated the intraspecific divergence of C. neoformans in Colombia. These findings provide evidence that Colombian C. neoformans isolates do not probably require significant structural changes as adaptation mechanisms to the host. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the whole genome sequence of Colombian C. neoformans isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz Helena Patiño
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
| | - Marina Muñoz
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
| | - Angie Lorena Ramírez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
| | - Nórida Vélez
- Unidad de Proteómica y Micosis Humanas, Grupo de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28001 Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Escandón
- Grupo de Microbiología, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
| | - Claudia-Marcela Parra-Giraldo
- Unidad de Proteómica y Micosis Humanas, Grupo de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28001 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan David Ramírez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
- Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +1-(332)-2344161
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Naicker SD, Firacative C, van Schalkwyk E, Maphanga TG, Monroy-Nieto J, Bowers JR, Engelthaler DM, Meyer W, Govender NP. Molecular type distribution and fluconazole susceptibility of clinical Cryptococcus gattii isolates from South African laboratory-based surveillance, 2005–2013. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010448. [PMID: 35767529 PMCID: PMC9242473 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As is the case globally, Cryptococcus gattii is a less frequent cause of cryptococcosis than Cryptococcus neoformans in South Africa. We performed multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and fluconazole susceptibility testing of 146 isolates randomly selected from 750 South African patients with C. gattii disease identified through enhanced laboratory surveillance, 2005 to 2013. The dominant molecular type was VGIV (101/146, 70%), followed by VGI (40/146, 27%), VGII (3/146, 2%) and VGIII (2/146, 1%). Among the 146 C. gattii isolates, 99 different sequence types (STs) were identified, with ST294 (14/146, 10%) and ST155 (10/146, 7%) being most commonly observed. The fluconazole MIC50 and MIC90 values of 105 (of 146) randomly selected C. gattii isolates were 4 μg/ml and 16 μg/ml, respectively. VGIV isolates had a lower MIC50 value compared to non-VGIV isolates, but these values were within one double-dilution of each other. HIV-seropositive patients had a ten-fold increased adjusted odds of a VGIV infection compared to HIV-seronegative patients, though with small numbers (99/136; 73% vs. 2/10; 20%), the confidence interval (CI) was wide (95% CI: 1.93–55.31, p = 0.006). Whole genome phylogeny of 98 isolates of South Africa’s most prevalent molecular type, VGIV, identified that this molecular type is highly diverse, with two interesting clusters of ten and six closely related isolates being identified, respectively. One of these clusters consisted only of patients from the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, suggesting a similar environmental source. This study contributed new insights into the global population structure of this important human pathogen. Cryptococcus is the most common cause of meningitis among adults in South Africa. Most human disease is caused by the members of two species complexes within the genus, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. The environmental range of these species complexes, both found in soil, overlaps in southern Africa though C. gattii is a less common human pathogen. C. gattii is divided into six molecular types: VGI, VGII, VGIII, VGIV, VGV and VGVI. In earlier molecular epidemiology studies including relatively few isolates, most southern African isolates were confirmed as molecular type VGIV. We aimed to determine the molecular diversity of C. gattii in South Africa by genotyping patient isolates obtained through laboratory surveillance, 2005–2013. We confirmed that VGIV was the dominant molecular type and that HIV-seropositive patients were more likely to be infected with VGIV compared to those HIV-seronegative. Analysis of the genomes of South African VGIV isolates revealed that they spanned the whole VGIV clade and confirmed that most isolates did not cluster specifically. However, we observed two interesting clusters of closely related isolates, consisting of patients from three neighbouring provinces in South Africa, suggesting a similar environmental source. Further studies of clinical and environmental African C. gattii isolates are needed to gain a better understanding of this pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serisha D. Naicker
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases (Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses), a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Carolina Firacative
- Studies in Translational Microbiology and Emerging Diseases (MICROS) Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Erika van Schalkwyk
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases (Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses), a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Tsidiso G. Maphanga
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases (Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses), a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Juan Monroy-Nieto
- Pathogen and Microbiome Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Jolene R. Bowers
- Pathogen and Microbiome Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - David M. Engelthaler
- Pathogen and Microbiome Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Wieland Meyer
- Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Research and Educational Network, Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Nelesh P. Govender
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases (Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses), a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Division of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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Diniz-Lima I, da Fonseca LM, dos Reis JS, Rodrigues da Costa Santos MA, da Costa KM, do Nascimento Santos CA, Barcelos PM, Guimarães-Pinto K, Filardy AA, Freire-de-Lima ME, Decote-Ricardo D, Morrot A, Freire-de-Lima CG, Freire-de-Lima L. The Sweet Side of Fungal Infections: Structural Glycan Diversity and Its Importance for Pathogenic Adaptation. MEDICINES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:medicines9060037. [PMID: 35736250 PMCID: PMC9230512 DOI: 10.3390/medicines9060037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Fungal infections are the most common secondary infections in debilitated individuals in a state of chronic disease or immunosuppression. Despite this, most fungal infections are neglected, mainly due to the lower frequency of their more severe clinical forms in immunocompetent individuals with a healthy background. However, over the past few years, several cases of severe fungal infections in healthy individuals have provoked a change in the epidemiological dynamics of fungal infections around the world, both due to recurrent outbreaks in previously infrequent regions and the greater emergence of more pathogenic fungal variants affecting healthy individuals, such as in the Cryptococcus genus. Therefore, before the arrival of a scenario of prevalent severe fungal infections, it is necessary to assess more carefully what are the real reasons for the increased incidence of fungal infection globally. What are the factors that are currently contributing to this new possible epidemiological dynamic? Could these be of a structural nature? Herein, we propose a discussion based on the importance of the virulence factors of glycoconjugate composition in the adaptation of pathogenic fungal species into the current scenario of increasing severity of these infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Israel Diniz-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Leonardo Marques da Fonseca
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Jhenifer Santos dos Reis
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Marcos André Rodrigues da Costa Santos
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Kelli Monteiro da Costa
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Carlos Antonio do Nascimento Santos
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Pedro Marçal Barcelos
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
| | - Kamila Guimarães-Pinto
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (K.G.-P.); (A.A.F.)
| | - Alessandra Almeida Filardy
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (K.G.-P.); (A.A.F.)
| | - Marco Edilson Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Química, Departamento de Química Orgânica, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil;
| | - Debora Decote-Ricardo
- Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia Veterinária, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil;
| | - Alexandre Morrot
- Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil;
| | - Celio Geraldo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel./Fax: +55-21-3938-6646
| | - Leonardo Freire-de-Lima
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil; (I.D.-L.); (L.M.d.F.); (J.S.d.R.); (M.A.R.d.C.S.); (K.M.d.C.); (C.A.d.N.S.); (P.M.B.); (L.F.-d.-L.)
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Central Nervous System Cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii in the Tropics. CURRENT TROPICAL MEDICINE REPORTS 2022; 9:1-7. [PMID: 35378784 PMCID: PMC8967080 DOI: 10.1007/s40475-022-00253-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Osaigbovo II, Igetei S, Omiunu OJ. Fatal cryptococcal meningitis in the Non-HIV infected: A case report. Niger J Clin Pract 2022; 25:1931-1935. [DOI: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_217_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Prevalence, Genetic Structure, and Antifungal Susceptibility of the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii Species Complex Strains Collected from the Arboreal Niche in Poland. Pathogens 2021; 11:pathogens11010008. [PMID: 35055956 PMCID: PMC8780472 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11010008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungi belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii species complex (CNGSC) are etiological agents of serious and not infrequently fatal infections in both humans and animals. Trees are the main ecological niche and source of potential exposition concerning these pathogens. With regard to epidemiology of cryptococcosis, various surveys were performed worldwide, enabling the establishment of a map of distribution and genetic structure of the arboreal population of the CNGSC. However, there are regions, among them Central and Eastern Europe, in which the data are lacking. The present study shows the results of such an environmental study performed in Wrocław, Poland. The CNGSC strains were detected in 2.2% of the tested trees belonging to four genera. The obtained pathogen population consisted exclusively of C. neoformans, represented by both the major molecular type VNI and VNIV. Within the tested group of isolates, resistance to commonly used antimycotics was not found, except for 5-fluorocytosine, in which about 5% of the strains were classified as a non-wild type.
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Crunden JL, Diezmann S. Hsp90 interaction networks in fungi-tools and techniques. FEMS Yeast Res 2021; 21:6413543. [PMID: 34718512 PMCID: PMC8599792 DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foab054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a central regulator of cellular proteostasis. It stabilizes numerous proteins that are involved in fundamental processes of life, including cell growth, cell-cycle progression and the environmental response. In addition to stabilizing proteins, Hsp90 governs gene expression and controls the release of cryptic genetic variation. Given its central role in evolution and development, it is important to identify proteins and genes that interact with Hsp90. This requires sophisticated genetic and biochemical tools, including extensive mutant collections, suitable epitope tags, proteomics approaches and Hsp90-specific pharmacological inhibitors for chemogenomic screens. These usually only exist in model organisms, such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yet, the importance of other fungal species, such as Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans, as serious human pathogens accelerated the development of genetic tools to study their virulence and stress response pathways. These tools can also be exploited to map Hsp90 interaction networks. Here, we review tools and techniques for Hsp90 network mapping available in different fungi and provide a summary of existing mapping efforts. Mapping Hsp90 networks in fungal species spanning >500 million years of evolution provides a unique vantage point, allowing tracking of the evolutionary history of eukaryotic Hsp90 networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia L Crunden
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Stephanie Diezmann
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
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