Publications by authors named "Orazio Romeo"

Article Synopsis
  • Candida auris is a serious public health threat, but its ecology is still not well understood.* -
  • Research conducted on 68 snakes identified C. auris in the cloacal swab of an Egyptian cobra, marking the first instance of this fungus found in wild animals.* -
  • The presence of C. auris in the cobra's blood needs more study, and the snake's immune responses could help limit the fungus's impact.*
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Candidiasis is a common fungal infection caused by species, with being the most prevalent. Resistance to azole drugs, commonly used to treat infections, poses a significant challenge. Transcriptional activator candidate 1 () gene has emerged as a key player in regulating drug resistance in .

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Aims: Umbelliprenin has shown promising biological activities, including immunoregulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. The present study investigated the growth inhibitory and apoptotic effects of umbelliprenin against Candida albicans in a BALB/c mice model of disseminated candidiasis.

Methods And Results: First, an antimicrobial assay via microdilution sensitivity test was performed.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study analyzed the effects of liquid whey on the fecal microbiota of two pig breeds, autochthonous (Nero Siciliano) and commercial crossbreds, over a 60-day period, with assessments at three different time points.
  • - Findings indicated that the crossbred pigs showed a significant change in microbiota composition due to liquid whey, whereas the Nero Siciliano pigs did not exhibit this change.
  • - The research highlighted that despite the differing responses, liquid whey positively influenced certain beneficial bacteria in both breeds, suggesting that the genetic background of the pigs plays a crucial role in how their microbiota reacts to dietary changes.
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Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are known to be responsible of various infections, including biofilm-associated diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze 19 strains of S.

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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) may integrate into the genome of infected cells and contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis. However, the role of HBV integration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains unclear. In this study, we apply a high-throughput HBV integration sequencing approach that allows sensitive identification of HBV integration sites and enumeration of integration clones.

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infections have a poor prognosis in animals, most likely due to a lack of knowledge about diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we described a case of a lethal infection in a captive bullfrog () in Europe. One adult male bullfrog was referred with clinical signs of lethargy and a cutaneous nodule.

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The utilization of dairy by-products as animal feed, especially in swine production, is a strategy to provide functional ingredients to improve gut health. This study explored the potential effect of a liquid whey-supplemented diet on the fecal microbiota of eleven pigs belonging to the Nero Siciliano breed. Five pigs were assigned to the control group and fed with a standard formulation feed, whereas six pigs were assigned to the experimental group and fed with the same feed supplemented with liquid whey.

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Background: The genus Sporothrix belongs to the order Ophiostomatales and contains mainly saprobic soil and plant fungi, although pathogenic species capable of causing human infections are also present. The whole-genomes of disease-causing species have already been sequenced and annotated but no comprehensive genomic resources for environmental Sporothrix species are available, thus limiting our understanding of the evolutionary origin of virulence-related genes and pathogenicity.

Result: The genome assembly of four environmental Sporothrix species resulted in genome size of ~ 30.

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Background: Candida tropicalis is a human pathogenic yeast frequently isolated in Latin America and Asian-Pacific regions, although recent studies showed that it is also becoming increasingly widespread throughout several African and south-European countries. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about its global patterns of genetic variation as most of existing multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data come from Asia and there are no genotyped African isolates.

Objectives: We report detailed genotyping data from a large set of C.

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Background: Ibrexafungerp (SCY-078) is the newest oral and intravenous antifungal drug with broad activity, currently undergoing clinical trials for invasive candidiasis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the activity of ibrexafungerp and comparators against a collection of 434 European blood isolates of .

Methods: Ibrexafungerp, caspofungin, fluconazole, and micafungin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were collected from 12 European laboratories for 434 blood isolates, including 163 , 108 , 60 , 40 , 29 , 20 , 6 , 2 , 2 , and 1 isolate each of , , and .

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Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis with worldwide distribution and caused by seven pathogenic species of genus: sensu stricto, , and (clinical clade), and the species , and (environmental clade). Isolates of the same species of may have different pathogenicities; however, few isolates of this fungus have been studied. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze the clinical and anatomopathological changes in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed BALB/c mice infected with clinical and environmental isolates of seven different species of , from both clades.

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Background: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common and debilitating long-term illness affecting million women worldwide. This disease is caused mainly by Candida albicans and a lesser extent by other species, including the two phylogenetically closely related pathogens Candida africana and Candida dubliniensis.

Objectives: In this study, we report detailed molecular epidemiological data about the occurrence of these two pathogenic yeasts in Iranian patients affected by VVC, or its chronic recurrent form (RVVC), and provide, for the first time, data on the antifungal activity of two new drugs, efinaconazole (EFN) and luliconazole (LUL).

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is a dimorphic fungus existing as mould in the environment and as yeast in the host. The morphological shift between mycelial/yeast phases is crucial for its virulence, but the transcriptional networks implicated in dimorphic transition are still not fully understood. Here, we report the global transcriptomic differences occurring between mould and yeast phases of , including changes in gene expression profiles associated with these distinct cellular phenotypes.

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Sporotrichosis occurs through contact with contaminated soil and plant. However, the incidence of sporotrichosis as a zoonotic epidemic has increased, particularly in Rio de Janeiro. In this work, we decided to evaluate some T-cell phenotypes involved in the immune response.

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, an extreme halotolerant black yeast in the order of Capnodiales, was recently isolated from different stations and depths in the Mediterranean Sea, where it was shown to be the dominant fungal species. In order to explore the genome characteristics of these Mediterranean isolates, we carried out a de-novo sequencing of the genome of one strain isolated at a depth of 3400 m (MC873) and a re-sequencing of one strain taken from a depth of 2500 m (MC848), whose genome was previously sequenced but was highly fragmented. A comparative phylogenomic analysis with other published genomes was also carried out to investigate the evolution of the strains from the deep sea in this environment.

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An autochthonous case of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix schenckii is reported. The patient developed skin lesions localized along the lymphatics that appeared after he suffered an injury while collecting wicker canes in marshy water. The fungus was identified as Sporothrix schenckii by MALDI-TOF and sequencing.

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Although the epidemiology of pathogenic Candida species causing invasive human diseases is changing, Candida albicans still remains the most common cause of bloodstream infections worldwide. The propensity of this pathogen to cause infections is undoubtedly the result of its unique genetic plasticity that allow it to adapt and respond quickly to a myriad of changing conditions both in the host and in the environment. For this reason, we decided to investigate the genetic diversity of this important fungal pathogen in a particular category of patients with severe neurological deficits including the hospital environments where they are hospitalized.

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Sporothrix schenckii is one of the etiological agents of sporotrichosis, a fungal infection distributed worldwide. Both, the causative organism and the disease have currently received limited attention by the medical mycology community, most likely because of the low mortality rates associated with it. Nonetheless, morbidity is high in endemic regions and the versatility of S.

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Cryptococcosis is a human infection caused mainly by two species of the Cryptococcus genus, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii, whose populations contain several phylogenetically related haploid (VN/VG-types) and hybrid genotypes. Here, we report the whole-genome sequencing of a Nigerian C. neoformans VNII, Mat-α, strain with a rare multilocus-sequence-type (MLST) genotype (ST43).

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Autochthonous pig breeds represent an important genetic reserve to be utilized mainly for the production of typical products. To explore its genetic variability, here we present for the first time whole genome sequencing data and SNPs discovered in a male domestic Nero Siciliano pig compared to the last pig reference genome Sus scrofa11.1.

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Background: Candida sp. represent the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. In the present work, we have evaluated the activity of an essential oil extracted from pistachio hulls against a number of standard and clinical strains of Candida sp.

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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) reduce HCV susceptibility to protease inhibitors. Little is known about NS3 RASs in viral isolates from the liver of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients infected with HCV genotype-1a (G1a).

Aim: The objective of this work was to study NS3 variability in isolates from the serum and liver of HCV-G1a-infected patients naïve to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).

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Elucidating population structure and levels of genetic diversity and recombination is necessary to understand the evolution and adaptation of species. Candida albicans is the second most frequent agent of human fungal infections worldwide, causing high-mortality rates. Here we present the genomic sequences of 182 C.

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is a pathogenic yeast that has emerged as an important cause of candidemia especially in elderly patients with hematological malignancies. Infections caused by this species are mainly reported from Latin America and Asian-Pacific countries although recent epidemiological data revealed that accounts for 6-16.4% of the bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Italy by representing a relevant issue especially for patients receiving long-term hospital care.

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