Chrysosporium tropicum as a probable cause of mycosis of poultry in India

Keratinophilic fungi from the feathers of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in Maharastra India

A total of 70 feathers samples of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) were collected from 7 Emu farms situated at two districts (Raigad and Thane) of Maharashtra (India) and screened for resident keratinophilic fungi. Among them, 44 isolates were recovered and identified by evaluating characteristic macro- and micro-morphological features. Further gene products corresponding to the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region from all isolates were amplified and sequenced. Homology search was performed using BLAST program against non-redundant nucleotide database, and significantly matched DNA sequences deposited to the NCBI Gene Bank for reference purposes. Eight identified fungal species belongs to 7 different genera named as Aphanoascus terreus Ac_MW577456 (21.43%), Microsporum gypseum Ac_MW580920 (14.29%), Ctenomyces serratus Ac_MW577459 (10.0%), Uncinocarpus orissi Ac_MW577461 (5.17%), Aphanoascus verrucosus Ac_MW577458 (4.29%), Gymnascella dankaliensis Ac_MW577460 (2.86%), Gymnoascoideus petalosporus Ac_MW577462 (2.86%) and Arthroderma tuberculatum Ac_MW577457 (1.43%).

Incidence of Keratinophilic Fungi from Selected Soils of Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra State, India

One hundred and fifty samples were collected from eleven districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state and screened for the presence of keratinophilic fungi using hair baiting technique for isolation. Seventy-one isolates were recovered and identified. The cultures were identified using macro- and micromorphological features. Their identification was also confirmed by the BLAST search of sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region against the NCBI/Genbank data and compared with deposited sequences for identification purpose. Thirteen species of eight genera were isolated, namely, Auxarthron conjugatum (2.00%), Chrysosporium indicum (14.00%), Chrysosporium evolceanui (2.66%), Chrysosporium tropicum (4.66%), Chrysosporium zonatum (1.33%), Chrysosporium state of Ctenomyces serratus (3.33%), Gymnascella dankaliensis (1.33%), Gymnascella hyalinospora (0.66%), Gymnoascoideus petalosporus (0.66%), Microsporum gypseum complex (9.33%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (2.00%), T. terrestre (3.33%), and Uncinocarpus queenslandicus (2.00%). This study indicates that the soils of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra may be significant reservoirs of certain keratinophilic fungi.

Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from selected soils of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai (India)

One hundred and twenty-five samples were collected from eight different sites in the vicinity of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and screened for the presence of keratinophilic fungi using hair baiting technique for isolation. Seventy-three isolates were recovered and identified. The cultures were identified using macro- and micro-morphological features. Their identification was also confirmed by the BLAST search of sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region against the NCBI/Genbank data and compared with deposited sequences for identification purpose. Thirteen species of nine genera were isolated viz. Aphanoascus durus (2.4%), Arthroderma corniculatum (1.6%), Auxarthron umbrinum (0.8%), Chrysosporium evolceanui (1.6%), Chrysosporium indicum (16.0%), Chrysosporium tropicum (2.4%), Chrysosporium zonatum (4.0%), Chrysosporium states of Arthroderma tuberculatum (0.8%), Chrysosporium state of Ctenomyces serratus (11.2%), Gymnascella dankaliensis (3.2%), Microsporum gypseum (12.0%), Myriodontium keratinophilum (0.8%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (1.6%). Representative of all thirteen species can release the protein in the range of 152.2-322.4 μg/mL in liquid media when grown on human hair in shake flask culture and also decompose 18.4-40.2% of human hair after four weeks of incubation. This study indicates that the soils of SGNP, Mumbai may be significant reservoirs of certain keratinophilic fungi. The keratinolytic activity of these fungi may be playing significant role in superficial infections to man and animals and recycling of keratinic material of this environment.

Isolation and molecular identification of keratinophilic fungi from public parks soil in Shiraz, Iran

Introduction. Keratinophilic fungi are an important group of fungi that live in soil. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify keratinophilic fungi from the soil of different parks in Shiraz. Materials and Methods. A total of 196 soil samples from 43 parks were collected. Isolation of the fungi was performed by hair bait technique. The isolated colonies were identified by morphologic feature of macro- and microconidia and molecular method, using DNA sequence analysis. ITS region of ribosomal DNA was amplified and the PCR products were sequenced. Results. 411 isolates from 22 genera were identified. Fusarium (23.8%), Chrysosporium (13.13%), Acremonium (12.65%), Penicillium (12.39%), Microsporum gypseum (1.94%), Bionectria ochroleuca (1.21%), Bipolaris spicifera (1.21%), Scedosporium apiospermum (0.82%), Phialophora reptans (0.82%), Cephalosporium curtipes (0.49%), Scedosporium dehoogii (0.24%), Ochroconis constricta (0.24%), Nectria mauritiicola (0.49%), Chaetomium (0.49%), Scopulariopsis (0.24%), Malbranchea (0.24%), and Tritirachium (0.24%) were the most important isolates. Most of the fungi were isolated from the soils with the PH range of 7 to 8. Conclusion. Our study results showed that many keratinophilic fungi isolated from the parks soil are important for public health and children are an important group at a high risk of being exposed to these fungi.

Keratinophilic fungi from selected soils of Bahrain

Eighty soil samples were collected from various sites of Bahrain and screened for presence of keratinophilic fungi using hair baiting techniques for isolation. Thirty-six isolates were recovered and identified. The cultures were identified using macro- and micromorphological features. Their identification was also confirmed by the BLAST search of sequences of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region against the NCBI/Gene bank data and compared with deposited sequences for confirmation. Eight species of five genera were isolated viz. Aphanoascus fulvuscence (8.75%), Aphanoascus punsolae (20.00%), Chrysosporium indicum (2.50%), Chrysosporium tropicum (2.50%), Chrysosporium zonatum (3.75%), Spiromastix warcupii (1.25%), Microsporum gypseum (3.75%), and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (2.50%). In conclusion, our study indicates that keratinophilic fungi do occur in the various soils of Bahrain. Moreover, the narrow diversity and low density of keratinophilic fungi in the investigated soils is expected and is emblematic to other hot arid environments.

Ecology of dermatophytes and other keratinophilic fungi in swimming pools and polluted and unpolluted streams

The biodiversity and richness of keratinophilic fungal communities including dermatophytes were assessed in three stream sites and three swimming pools in the Nablus district in Palestine, using hair baiting (HBT) and surface dilution plate (SDP) techniques, over 8- and 6-month periods, respectively. The effect of wastewater effluent and selected ecological factors on these fungi in relation to species diversity and population densities were also considered. Fifty keratinophilic fungal species were recovered from the aquatic habitats studied, of which 42 were recovered from stream sites and 22 from swimming pools. Of these fungi 6 were either dermatophytes (Microsporum gypseum, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes) or dermatophyte related species (Chrysosporium merdarium, Ch. tropicum, Ch. keratinophilum and T. terrestre). The most frequently isolated species in the three pools were Acremonium strictum and Cladosporium cladosporioides, using Sabouraud dextrose agar medium (SDA). The most abundant species were Acr. strictum, and Aspergillus flavus. However, only 4 species were isolated using the SDA medium amended with 5-flurocytosine (5-FC). The most frequent and abundant species in the three stream sites using SDA medium were Geotricum candidum, and Penicillium chrysogenum. The most frequent species in the three sites using the 5-FC medium, was Paecilomyces lilacinus. Using HBT, the most abundant and frequent species in the three stream sites were G. candidum, and Pa. lilacinus, on SDA medium, and Pa. lilacinus, and Gliocladium nigrovirens on the 5-FC medium. The 5-FC medium was more suitable for the isolation of dermatophytes and closely related species than the SDA medium; 6 were recovered on 5-FC, whereas only one on the SDA medium. Variation in the levels of keratinophilic fungal populations from the three stream sites sampled 5 times over an 8-month period, followed comparable fluctuation patterns. Wastewater affected fungal population densities with the highest levels in the un-polluted stream sites, and lowest in the heavily polluted sites. Swimming pools, polluted and un-polluted stream sites were found to be rich in pathogenic and potentially pathogenic fungi.