Melanin: Quantification and protection against oxidative stress in chromoblastomycosis agents.

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic cutaneous and subcutaneous infection caused by melanized fungal species. We quantified the extractable melanin of 77 strains of CBM agents distributed within five genera. Moreover, resistance to oxidative stress was evaluated in strains exposed or not to the melanin inhibitor tricyclazole.

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.

Evaluation of Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08 as a co-starter in wine fermentation for the improvement of ethyl esters production.

Zygosaccharomyces bailii BCV 08, a yeast isolated from red wine barrels in Brazil, was evaluated as co-starter in fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Z. bailii BCV 08 was preliminarily shown to produce high levels of esters, and the production was optimized in bench and bioreactor scales using grape must.

(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.