Diverse mycotoxin threats to safe food and feed cereals.

Toxigenic fungi, including Aspergillus and Fusarium species, contaminate our major cereal crops with an array of harmful mycotoxins, which threaten the health of humans and farmed animals. Despite our best efforts to prevent crop diseases, or postharvest spoilage, our cereals are consistently contaminated with aflatoxins and deoxynivalenol, and while established monitoring systems effectively prevent acute exposure, Aspergillus and Fusarium mycotoxins still threaten our food security. This is through the understudied impacts of: (i) our chronic exposure to these mycotoxins, (ii) the underestimated dietary intake of masked mycotoxins, and (iii) the synergistic threat of cocontaminations by multiple mycotoxins.

Emerging health threat and cost of Fusarium mycotoxins in European wheat.

Mycotoxins harm human and livestock health, while damaging economies. Here we reveal the changing threat of Fusarium head blight (FHB) mycotoxins in European wheat, using data from the European Food Safety Agency and agribusiness (BIOMIN, World Mycotoxin Survey) for ten years (2010-2019). We show persistent, high, single- and multi-mycotoxin contamination alongside changing temporal-geographical distributions, indicative of altering FHB disease pressure and pathogen populations, highlighting the potential synergistic negative health consequences and economic cost.

The Aspergillus fumigatus Phosphoproteome Reveals Roles of High-Osmolarity Glycerol Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases in Promoting Cell Wall Damage and Caspofungin Tolerance.

The filamentous fungus can cause a distinct set of clinical disorders in humans. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most common life-threatening fungal disease of immunocompromised humans. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are essential to the adaptation to the human host.

Aspergillus fumigatus calcium-responsive transcription factors regulate cell wall architecture promoting stress tolerance, virulence and caspofungin resistance.

Aspergillus fumigatus causes invasive aspergillosis, the most common life-threatening fungal disease of immuno-compromised humans. The treatment of disseminated infections with antifungal drugs, including echinocandin cell wall biosynthesis inhibitors, is increasingly challenging due to the rise of drug-resistant pathogens. The fungal calcium responsive calcineurin-CrzA pathway influences cell morphology, cell wall composition, virulence, and echinocandin resistance.

GPCR-mediated glucose sensing system regulates light-dependent fungal development and mycotoxin production.

Microorganisms sense environmental fluctuations in nutrients and light, coordinating their growth and development accordingly. Despite their critical roles in fungi, only a few G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been characterized. The Aspergillus nidulans genome encodes 86 putative GPCRs.

High Osmolarity Glycerol Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases SakA and MpkC Physically Interact During Osmotic and Cell Wall Stresses.

, a saprophytic filamentous fungus, is a serious opportunistic pathogen of mammals and it is the primary causal agent of invasive aspergillosis (IA). Mitogen activated protein Kinases (MAPKs) are important components involved in diverse cellular processes in eukaryotes. MpkC and SakA, the homologs of the Hog1 are important to adaptations to oxidative and osmotic stresses, heat shock, cell wall damage, macrophage recognition, and full virulence.

Non-canonical fungal G-protein coupled receptors promote Fusarium head blight on wheat.

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is the number one floral disease of cereals and poses a serious health hazard by contaminating grain with the harmful mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). Fungi adapt to fluctuations in their environment, coordinating development and metabolism accordingly. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) communicate changes in the environment to intracellular G-proteins that direct the appropriate biological response, suggesting that fungal GPCR signalling may be key to virulence.

Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube: 12-Month Follow-up of the Randomized Controlled Trial Treatment Group.

Objective: Obstructive eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD) affects up to 5% of adults; however, available treatment strategies have limitations. It was previously reported that balloon dilation of the eustachian tube (BDET) with the eustachian tube balloon catheter + medical management (MM) results in a significantly higher proportion of subjects with normalized tympanograms versus MM alone at 6- and 24-week follow-up. The current analysis extends these initial findings by investigating the durability of BDET + MM treatment outcomes through 52 weeks.

Inter-genome comparison of the Quorn fungus Fusarium venenatum and the closely related plant infecting pathogen Fusarium graminearum.

Background: The soil dwelling saprotrophic non-pathogenic fungus Fusarium venenatum, routinely used in the commercial fermentation industry, is phylogenetically closely related to the globally important cereal and non-cereal infecting pathogen F. graminearum. This study aimed to sequence, assemble and annotate the F.

Fungal G-protein-coupled receptors: mediators of pathogenesis and targets for disease control.

G-protein signalling pathways are involved in sensing the environment, enabling fungi to coordinate cell function, metabolism and development with their surroundings, thereby promoting their survival, propagation and virulence. G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of cell surface receptors in fungi. Despite the apparent importance of GPCR signalling to fungal biology and virulence, relatively few GPCR-G-protein interactions, and even fewer receptor-binding ligands, have been identified.

Sharing mutants and experimental information prepublication using FgMutantDb (https://scabusa.org/FgMutantDb).

There is no comprehensive storage for generated mutants of Fusarium graminearum or data associated with these mutants. Instead, researchers relied on several independent and non-integrated databases. FgMutantDb was designed as a simple spreadsheet that is accessible globally on the web that will function as a centralized source of information on F.

RNAi as an emerging approach to control Fusarium head blight disease and mycotoxin contamination in cereals.

Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium head blight (FHB). In addition to yield and quality losses, FHB contaminates cereal grain with mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol, which are harmful to human, animal and ecosystem health. Currently, FHB control is only partially effective due to several intractable problems.

Balloon dilation of the eustachian tube for dilatory dysfunction: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives/hypothesis: To assess balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube with Eustachian tube balloon catheter in conjunction with medical management as treatment for Eustachian tube dilatory dysfunction.

Study Design: In this prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, we assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, patients age 22 years and older with Eustachian tube dilatory dysfunction refractory to medical therapy to undergo balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube with balloon catheter in conjunction with medical management or medical management alone.

Methods: The primary endpoint was normalization of tympanogram at 6 weeks.

The use of fructosamine in cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) screening.

Objective: To determine whether serum fructosamine correlates with glycemic control and clinical outcomes in patients being screened for cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD).

Methods: Fructosamine and percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV) were measured in patients undergoing a 2h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for CFRD screening. Fractional serum fructosamine (FSF) was calculated as fructosamine/total protein.

A spatial temporal analysis of the Fusarium graminearum transcriptome during symptomless and symptomatic wheat infection.

Fusarium head blight of wheat is one of the most serious and hazardous crop diseases worldwide. Here, a transcriptomic investigation of Fusarium graminearum reveals a new model for symptomless and symptomatic wheat infection. The predicted metabolic state and secretome of F.

Nutrient Sensing at the Plasma Membrane of Fungal Cells.

To respond to the changing environment, cells must be able to sense external conditions. This is important for many processes including growth, mating, the expression of virulence factors, and several other regulatory effects. Nutrient sensing at the plasma membrane is mediated by different classes of membrane proteins that activate downstream signaling pathways: nontransporting receptors, transceptors, classical and nonclassical G-protein-coupled receptors, and the newly defined extracellular mucin receptors.

Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus exposed to osmotic stress reveals regulators of osmotic and cell wall stresses that are SakA and MpkC dependent.

Invasive aspergillosis is predominantly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, and adaptations to stresses experienced within the human host are a prerequisite for the survival and virulence strategies of the pathogen. The central signal transduction pathway operating during hyperosmotic stress is the high osmolarity glycerol mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. A.

Bone Mineral Density and Fat-Soluble Vitamin Status in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis Undergoing Lung Transplantation: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) often experience low bone mineral density (BMD) pre- and post-lung transplantation (LTX). The study purpose was to describe BMD and micronutrient status in adults with CF pre- and post-LTX.

Methods: Twelve patients with CF (29 ± 8 years) were recruited from the CF clinic at the University of Alberta Lung Transplant Program.

The putative flavin carrier family FlcA-C is important for Aspergillus fumigatus virulence.

Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and the most important species causing pulmonary fungal infections. The signaling by calcium is very important for A. fumigatus pathogenicity and it is regulated by the transcription factor CrzA.

The Aspergillus fumigatus SchA kinase modulates SakA MAP kinase activity and it is essential for virulence.

The serine-threonine kinase TOR, the Target of Rapamycin, is an important regulator of nutrient, energy and stress signaling in eukaryotes. Sch9, a Ser/Thr kinase of AGC family (the cAMP-dependent PKA, cGMP- dependent protein kinase G and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C family), is a substrate of TOR. Here, we characterized the fungal opportunistic pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus Sch9 homologue (SchA).

RNAseq reveals hydrophobins that are involved in the adaptation of Aspergillus nidulans to lignocellulose.

Background: Sugarcane is one of the world's most profitable crops. Waste steam-exploded sugarcane bagasse (SEB) is a cheap, abundant, and renewable lignocellulosic feedstock for the next-generation biofuels. In nature, fungi seldom exist as planktonic cells, similar to those found in the nutrient-rich environment created within an industrial fermenter.

The contribution of Aspergillus fumigatus stress responses to virulence and antifungal resistance.

Invasive aspergillosis has emerged as one of the most common life-threatening fungal disease of humans. The emergence of antifungal resistant pathogens represents a current and increasing threat to society. In turn, new strategies to combat fungal infection are urgently required.

Mitogen activated protein kinases SakA(HOG1) and MpkC collaborate for Aspergillus fumigatus virulence.

Here, we investigated which stress responses were influenced by the MpkC and SakA mitogen-activated protein kinases of the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway in the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. The ΔsakA and the double ΔmpkC ΔsakA mutants were more sensitive to osmotic and oxidative stresses, and to cell wall damaging agents. Both MpkC::GFP and SakA::GFP translocated to the nucleus upon osmotic stress and cell wall damage, with SakA::GFP showing a quicker response.