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Topic Review
Host Factors Affecting Susceptibility to CAPA Development
COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) has had a high incidence. In addition, it has been associated with prolonged hospital stays, as well as several predisposing risk factors, such as fungal factors (nosocomial organism, the size of the conidia, and the ability of the Aspergillus spp. of colonizing the respiratory tract), environmental factors (remodeling in hospitals, use of air conditioning and negative pressure in intensive care units), comorbidities, and immunosuppressive therapies. In addition to these factors, SARS-CoV-2 per se is associated with significant dysfunction of the patient’s immune system, involving both innate and acquired immunity, with reduced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts and cytokine storm.
  • 848
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Upstream Regulation in Aspergillus Species
In filamentous fungal Aspergillus species, growth, development, and secondary metabolism are genetically programmed biological processes, which require precise coordination of diverse signaling elements, transcription factors (TFs), upstream and downstream regulators, and biosynthetic genes. Regulatory roles of these controllers in asexual/sexual development and primary/secondary metabolism of Aspergillus species have been extensively studied. Among a wide spectrum of regulators, a handful of global regulators govern upstream regulation of development and metabolism by directly and/or indirectly affecting the expression of various genes including TFs.
  • 847
  • 02 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Mycotic Keratitis
Mycotic or fungal keratitis (FK) is a sight-threatening infection of the cornea by filamentous fungi or yeasts. 
  • 846
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Aspergillus fumigatus in Arctic Soils
Aspergillus fumigatus is a thermotolerant ascomycete mould with a ubiquitous presence around the world. Its primary ecological niche is within decaying plant matter and soil. However, it is also a common opportunistic fungal pathogen capable of infecting both immunocompetent and immunocompromised humans.
  • 826
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Methods for Manipulating Cryptococcus Spores
Spores are essential for the long-term survival of many diverse organisms, due to their roles in reproduction and stress resistance. In the environmental human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus, basidiospores are robust cells with the ability to cause disease in animal models of infection.
  • 808
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Strategies to Mitigate Against Pathogenic Drug Resistant Fungi
Antifungal resistance, antifungal drug tolerance, and biofilm formation directly contribute to rising cases of fungal morbidity and mortality. As with all of the infectious diseases, prevention is the optimal way to mitigate disease outbreak and transmission. The application of effective disinfection and sterilization regimes, particularly in hospital settings, is vitally important, where a focus on fungal biofilm formation on indwelling medical devices is important. Preventing the growth of mycotoxin-producing fungi on foods through the performance of appropriate end-to-end processes is advisable, as mycotoxins are recalcitrant and challenging to eliminate once they have been formed. Adopting the OneHealth approach will support and enable solutions to address this complex societal challenge.
  • 808
  • 31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Fungal Aeroallergens
The incidence of allergic diseases worldwide is rapidly increasing, making allergies a modern pandemic. Human activity and climate change have an impact on the spread of fungi and their plant hosts. Particular attention should be paid to microfungi, i.e., plant parasites that may be an underestimated source of new allergens.
  • 737
  • 06 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Poultry Litter in Agricultural Areas
The poultry farming industry has assumed a pivotal role in meeting the global demand for affordable animal proteins. While poultry farming makes a substantial contribution to food security and nutrition, it also presents environmental and public health challenges. The use of poultry litter as fertilizer for agricultural soils raises concerns about the transfer of pathogens and drug-resistant microorganisms from poultry farms to crop production areas.
  • 726
  • 23 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Potential Association between Cryptococcal Meningitis and Gut Microbiome
Cryptococcus neoformans is a major cause of fungal meningitis in immunocompromised individuals. Similar to other melanized microorganisms associated with human diseases, the cell wall-associated melanin of C. neoformans is a major virulence factor enabling it to evade host immune responses. The levels and formation of these melanins may be influenced by the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Studies have also found that C. neoformans infection can lead to dysbiosis of the human gut microbiota.
  • 722
  • 24 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Fungal and Oomycete Soybean Pathogens and Molecular Detection
Soybean (Glycine max) is among the most important crops. Soybean was domesticated in China over 3000 years ago and introduced to other Asian countries and, later, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Soybean production amounted to 355,605 million tons in 2021–2022, which illustrates the enormous economic importance of this crop. Soybean is threatened by several abiotic and biotic stress factors, which result in reduction of soybean yield and quality. Pathogens, pests, and weeds cause significant losses to soybean. Important fungal and oomycete pathogens of soybean and molecular methods to detect them are presented.
  • 692
  • 20 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Diversity of Mycogenic Oxide and Chalcogenide Nanoparticles
Oxide and chalcogenide nanoparticles have great potential for use in biomedicine, engineering, agriculture, environmental protection, and other research fields. The myco-synthesis of nanoparticles with fungal cultures, their metabolites, culture liquids, and mycelial and fruit body extracts is simple, cheap and environmentally friendly. The characteristics of nanoparticles, including their size, shape, homogeneity, stability, physical properties and biological activity, can be tuned by changing the myco-synthesis conditions.
  • 657
  • 30 May 2023
Topic Review
Antifungal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles against Candida Species
Silver nanoparticles have long been known for their antibacterial properties. Increasing numbers of studies confirm that they have antifungal properties as well.
  • 649
  • 09 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Ecological Characteristics of Floccularia luteovirens
Floccularia luteovirens, a rare wild edible and medicinal fungus, is endemic to the Tibetan plateau. However, attempts to artificially domesticate this species have not been successful, resulting in extremely limited utilization of this valuable resource. The geographical distribution of F. luteovirens, along with its ecological and biological characteristics are presented. It explores population relations, symbiotic relationships, soil microbial community relations, fruiting body occurrence conditions, nutritional metabolism, and reproductive patterns. The cultivation techniques, as well as the edible and medicinal value of this mushroom, are also reviewed. Through an overall analysis of the physiological characteristics and current research status of F. luteovirens,  its development prospects were discussesed.
  • 627
  • 21 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Biomimetics as Antifungals
Biomimetics, which are similar to natural compounds that play an important role in the metabolism, manifestation of functional activity and reproduction of various fungi, have a pronounced attraction in the current search for new effective antifungals. Actual trends in the development of this area of research indicate that unnatural amino acids can be used as such biomimetics, including those containing halogen atoms; compounds similar to nitrogenous bases embedded in the nucleic acids synthesized by fungi; peptides imitating fungal analogs; molecules similar to natural substrates of numerous fungal enzymes and quorum-sensing signaling molecules of fungi and yeast, etc.
  • 624
  • 31 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Treatment of Invasive Aspergillosis by Non-fumigatus Aspergillus spp.
With increasing frequency, clinical and laboratory-based mycologists are consulted on invasive fungal diseases caused by rare fungal species. A. flavus is the second most common Aspergillus spp. isolated in patients with IA and the predominant species in subtropical regions. Treatment is complicated by its intrinsic resistance against amphotericin B (AmB) and high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for voriconazole. A. nidulans has been frequently isolated in patients with long-term immunosuppression, mostly in patients with primary immunodeficiencies such as chronic granulomatous disease. It has been reported to disseminate more often than other Aspergillus spp. Innate resistance against AmB has been suggested but not yet proven, while MICs seem to be elevated. A. niger is more frequently reported in less severe infections such as otomycosis. Triazoles exhibit varying MICs and are therefore not strictly recommended as first-line treatment for IA caused by A. niger, while patient outcome seems to be more favorable when compared to IA due to other Aspergillus species. A. terreus-related infections have been reported increasingly as the cause of acute and chronic aspergillosis. A recent prospective international multicenter surveillance study showed Spain, Austria, and Israel to be the countries with the highest density of A. terreus species complex isolates collected.
  • 579
  • 02 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Non-Culture-Based Methods for Diagnosing Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis
The diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is crucial since most clinical signs are not specific to invasive fungal infections. To detect an IPA, different criteria should be considered. Next to host factors and radiological signs, microbiological criteria should be fulfilled. For microbiological diagnostics, different methods are available. Next to the conventional culture-based approaches like staining and culture, non-culture-based methods can increase sensitivity and improve time-to-result. Besides fungal biomarkers, like galactomannan and (1→3)-β-D-glucan as nonspecific tools, molecular-based methods can also offer detection of resistance determinants. The detection of novel biomarkers or targets is promising. 
  • 572
  • 06 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Antifungal Resistance in Pathogenic Candida Species
Candidiasis is a highly pervasive infection posing major health risks, especially for immunocompromised populations. Pathogenic Candida species have evolved intrinsic and acquired resistance to a variety of antifungal medications.
  • 551
  • 18 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Monoclonal Antibody 5B2
Candidiasis (either mucocutaneous or systemic) is an opportunistic infection caused mainly by Candida albicans, a yeast and natural commensal of the human digestive tract and vagina. Unlike true pathogens, the presence of yeasts alone does not indicate their pathogenic character, which depends essentially on the susceptibility of the host and the expression of pathogenicity factors by some yeast strains. It is therefore essential to have markers associated with pathogenicity to understand the mechanisms of infection and to diagnose these infections as accurately as possible. The development of hybridoma technology/advent of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) led to considerable progress in answering some of these questions. Among the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) developed, mAb 5B2 allowed us to make considerable progress in understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis and also contributed to the diagnosis of candidiasis and the tracing of more pathogenic strains. 
  • 542
  • 16 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Current Landscape of Disease
Infectious diseases limit productivity and result in significant economic losses in each sector. Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are economically important, have global reach, and require management. TADs can have significant implications for food security. Food-borne pathogens comprise microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, as well as parasites that cause food spoilage and infection. Food-borne pathogens are a major threat to food safety, as they can cause human diseases if animal products infected with toxins are consumed. The emergence of diseases stems from intricate interactions between microbes and humans, often influenced by a variety of complex factors. Key contributors to disease emergence include microbial adaptation and change, ecological shifts, human demographics and behavior, advancements in technology and healthcare, travel, trade, and industrial activities, breakdowns in public health measures, and varying levels of susceptibility to infection.
  • 519
  • 27 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Mycotoxin Occurrence in Foodstuffs
Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced as secondary fungal metabolites that can cause harmful effects on humans and animals. These compounds considerably affect the food industry and public health. The occurrence and levels of many mycotoxins have been studied in the overall food system, in which such toxins are more notable in the most nutritious and largely consumed foods like cereals and nuts.
  • 478
  • 13 Dec 2023
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