Systematic screening strategy for fungal laccase activity of endophytes from Otoba gracilipes with bioremediation potential.

Fungal laccases are promising for biotechnological applications, including bioremediation and dye biotransformation, due to their high redox potential and broad substrate specificity. However, current bioprospecting methods for identifying laccase-producing fungi can be challenging and time-consuming. For early detection, it was developed a three-step, multi-criteria weighting system that evaluates fungal strains based on: First, the biotransformation capacity of three dyes (i.

Water Quality, Heavy Metals, and Antifungal Susceptibility to Fluconazole of Yeasts from Water Systems.

Aquatic environments could be reservoirs of pathogenic yeasts with acquired antifungal resistance. The susceptibility to antifungal agents of yeasts present in the wastewater and natural waters of the city of Cali was evaluated. Samples were taken from two types of water: drinking water (Meléndez River, drinking water treatment plant "Puerto Mallarino" in the Cauca River) and wastewater (South Channel of the Cauca River, "Cañaveralejo-PTAR" wastewater treatment plant).

Nile Red Incubation Time Before Reading Fluorescence Greatly Influences the Yeast Neutral Lipids Quantification.

High-throughput screening methodologies to estimate lipid content in oleaginous yeasts use Nile red fluorescence in a given solvent and optimized excitation/emission wavelengths. However, Nile red fluorescence stabilization has been poorly analyzed, and high variability occurs when relative fluorescence is measured immediately or a few minutes after dye addition. The aim of this work was to analyze the fluorescence of Nile red at different incubation times using a variety of solvents and oleaginous/non-oleaginous yeast strains.

Rapid classification of chromoblastomycosis agents genera by infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics supervised by sequencing of rDNA regions.

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a skin and subcutaneous infection caused by species of seven fungal genera. Identification of CBM species is performed by DNA sequencing of one or more genes, which becomes a time-consuming work. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) has been used for the identification of other microorganisms, however, only one CBM genus was evaluated by FTIR analysis to date.

Pigment Production Improvement in AJB01 Using Design of Experiments.

The discovery of biopigments has received considerable attention from the industrial sector, mainly for potential applications as novel molecules with biological activity, in cosmetics or if aquaculture food supplements. The main objective of this study was to increase the production of carotenoid pigments in a naturally pigmented yeast by subjecting the yeast to various cellular stresses using design of experiments. The fungal strain AJB01 was isolated from a food sample collected in Barranquilla, Colombia, and one of the pigments produced was β-carotene.

Yeast carotenoids: production and activity as antimicrobial biomolecule.

Carotenoids are a large group of organic, pigmented, isoprenoid-type compounds that play biological activities in plants and microorganisms (yeasts, bacteria, and microalgae). Literature reported it as vitamin A precursors and antioxidant activity. Carotenoids also can act as antimicrobial agents and few reports showed quantitative measurements of Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations against different pathogens.

Dominant yeasts associated to mango (Mangifera indica) and rose apple (Syzygium malaccense) fruit pulps investigated by culture-based methods.

The biotechnological potential of yeasts associated to different habitats in Colombia has been poorly studied, especially the yeasts associated with different plant structures. Fruit pulps are interesting substrates mainly for the growth of yeast species, that can positively affect the productivity and quality of some bioeconomic species. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the dominant yeast species associated with mango and rose apple fruit pulps in Cali, Colombia.

Epidemiological aspects and characterization of the resistance profile of spp. in patients with invasive fusariosis.

. The remarkable intrinsic resistance of species to most antifungal agents results in high mortality rates in the immunocompromised population..

In Vitro Interactions of Amphotericin B Combined with Non-antifungal Agents Against Rhodotorula mucilaginosa Strains.

Rhodotorula species are emerging as opportunistic pathogens, causing catheter-associated fungemia in patients with compromised immunity. R. mucilaginosa is considered the most common species involved in human infections.

The Oleaginous Yeast BI281A as a New Potential Biodiesel Feedstock: Selection and Lipid Production Optimization.

A high throughput screening (HTS) methodology for evaluation of cellular lipid content based on Nile red fluorescence reads using black background 96-wells test plates and a plate reader equipment allowed the rapid intracellular lipid estimation of strains from a Brazilian phylloplane yeast collection. A new oleaginous yeast, BI281A, was selected, for which the gravimetric determination of total lipids relative to dry weight was 52.38% for glucose or 34.

Chromoblastomycosis caused by : Case report.

We report a case of chromoblastomycosis in lesions on the chest and foot. Itraconazole was chosen as the initial treatment for this patient, who was followed up for 8 months before becoming noncompliant. The pathogenic fungal species was identified as by ITS region sequencing.

South Brazilian wines: culturable yeasts associated to bottled wines produced in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

A comprehensive understanding of the presence and role of yeasts in bottled wines helps to know and control the organoleptic quality of the final product. The South Region of Brazil is an important wine producer, and the state of "Rio Grande do Sul" (RS) accounts for 90% of Brazilian wines. The state of "Santa Catarina" (SC) started the production in 1975, and is currently the fifth Brazilian producer.

Molecular Epidemiology of Agents of Human Chromoblastomycosis in Brazil with the Description of Two Novel Species.

The human mutilating disease chromoblastomycosis is caused by melanized members of the order Chaetothyriales. To assess population diversity among 123 clinical strains of agents of the disease in Brazil we applied sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, and partial cell division cycle and β-tubulin genes. Strains studied were limited to three clusters divided over the single family Herpotrichiellaceae known to comprise agents of the disease.

Enzymatic Activity and Susceptibility to Antifungal Agents of Brazilian Environmental Isolates of Hortaea werneckii.

Four strains of Hortaea werneckii were isolated from different substrates in Brazil (a salt marsh macrophyte, a bromeliad and a marine zoanthid) and had their identification confirmed by sequencing of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 domain or ITS region. Most of the strains were able to express amylase, lipase, esterase, pectinase and/or cellulase, enzymes that recognize components of plant cells as substrates, but did not express albuminase, keratinase, phospholipase and DNAse, whose substrates are animal-related. Urease production was positive for all isolates, while caseinase, gelatinase and laccase production were variable among the strains.

(GTG)5 MSP-PCR fingerprinting as a technique for discrimination of wine associated yeasts?

In microbiology, identification of all isolates by sequencing is still unfeasible in small research laboratories. Therefore, many yeast diversity studies follow a screening procedure consisting of clustering the yeast isolates using MSP-PCR fingerprinting, followed by identification of one or a few selected representatives of each cluster by sequencing. Although this procedure has been widely applied in the literature, it has not been properly validated.

Antifungal susceptibilities and identification of species of the Sporothrix schenckii complex isolated in Brazil.

Sporotrichosis is a subacute or chronic mycosis caused worldwide by the dimorphic species complex, Sporothrix schenckii. We studied 85 isolates recovered in Brazil to verify their identification and evaluate their in vitro antifungal susceptibility patterns. Based on phenotypic tests (microscopic features, ability to grow at 30°C and 37°C, colony diameters, as well as assimilation of sucrose and raffinose) and molecular assays (amplification of a fragment of the calmodulin gene), the strains were identified as S.

A case of relapsed chromoblastomycosis due to Fonsecaea monophora: antifungal susceptibility and phylogenetic analysis.

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis. The management of this infection continues to be challenging because there is no consensus on the therapeutic regimen. We report here a case of a 69-year-old male patient with cauliflower-like lesions on his left leg and foot.

A case of Exophiala spinifera infection in Southern Brazil: Molecular identification and antifungal susceptibility.

We report a case of an 80-year-old Brazilian man, farmer, with lesions on the dorsum of the hand. A direct mycological examination, cultivation and microculture slide observation was performed. The sequencing of ITS1-5.