In an ongoing survey of Korean indigenous fungi, three fungal strains belonging to the Sordariomycetes were isolated from soil samples. These strains were designated KNU16-001, KNU16-002, and KNU16-009, and identified as Ambrosiella grosmanniae, Acremonium sclerotigenum, and Trichocladium asperum, respectively, based on morphological characterization and phylogenetic analysis using internal transcribed spacer region sequences of ribosomal DNA. This is the first report of these species in Korea.
Acremonium ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fungi ; Korea* ; Soil

*Acremonium ; *Drug Therapy ; *Maduromycosis ; *Surgical Procedures, Operative

Although more reports on the fungal keratitis are recently coming out, cases of mixed infection by two or more fungal agents have not yet beenreported in the literature. The authors experienced a case of fungal keratitis caused by a combination of Fusarium solani and Acremonium falciforme in which central corneal ulcer with severe suppurative infilteration and hypopyon were observed. Since the conditions were resistant to conservative treatment and corneal perforation occurred despite of medical treatment, penetrating keratoplasty was performed along with postoperative topical and systemic antifungal therapies for several weeks and good results were obtained with no evidence of recurrence.
Acremonium* ; Coinfection ; Corneal Perforation ; Corneal Ulcer ; Fusarium* ; Keratitis* ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating ; Recurrence

The mycotic flora of the conjunctival sac was investigated in the following fhie groups: Group I: Control group: 60 cases. Group II: Children group (3 to 4 years of age): 80 eyes. Group III: Young adult group (40 to 70 years of age): 60 eyes. Group IV: Old aged group(40 to 70 years of age): 60 eyes. Group V: Young adult group treated with 0.5% cortisone acetate solution and 0.5% chloramphenicol solution, q.i.d., for three weeks: 104 eyes. Conjunctival stroke was made at the lower conjunctival fornix of each eye and inoculated on Sabouraud's glucose media. In group I. the cotton stick was not contacted with the conjunctiva, but the similar procedure was performed, as in the other groups, remaining in the air for the same duration to rule out air contamination. The fungi cultured for at least four weeks were identified by macroscopic appearance the colonies and microscopic findings of the mycelia and spores. The following results were obtained: 1) No positive culture was noted in Group I. This will rule out contamination during the procedure. 2) Positive cultures were observed in 16.2% of normal adults, and in 6.2% of normal children. 3) In steroid and antibiotic treated group, the incidence of positive cultures increased to 31.7%. 4) The fungi cultured were identified as the following eight species: Penicllium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mycelia sterila., Hormodendrum sp., Mucor sp., Cephalosporium sp., and Oospora sp.
Acremonium ; Adult ; Aspergillus ; Child ; Chloramphenicol ; Conjunctiva* ; Cortisone ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mucor ; Spores ; Stroke ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Clinical concern and incidence of mycotic keratitis in ophthalmic practice has been increasing. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical and mycological feature of mycotic keratitis. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical and mycological aspect of mycotic keratitis in 14 patients from October 1993 to March 1997 in Dongguk Unversity Hospital. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Mycotic keratitis showed high incidence in fifth (42.9%), sixth (35.7%), and fourth decade (14.3%). The ratio of male to female patient was 1:3.6. The seasonal prevalence was highest in autumn. A scratch or abrasion from vegetation was the most common type of the eye trauma in mycotic keratitis. The positive rate of KOH examination and culture was 92.9%, respectively. The common causative organisms of mycotic keratitis were Fusarium sp. (38.5%) and Alternaria sp. (38.5%), followed by Curvularia sp. (7.7%), Aspergillus flavus (7.7%) and Acremonium sp. (7.7%).
Acremonium ; Alternaria ; Aspergillus flavus ; Female ; Fusarium ; Humans ; Incidence ; Keratitis* ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seasons

Mold form fungi such as Fusarium, Acremonium, and Sporothrix species are thought to represent contamination or harmless colonization when isolated from immunocompromised patients. More recently, the pathogenic role of these fungi has been clearly established. The role of implantable subcutaneous central catheters as potential portals of entry for mold form fungus has been underestimated. We describe four cases of implantable subcutaneous central catheter- related mold form fungemia in patients with cancer. One patient responded well only after removal of the implantable subcutaneous central catheter, two patients responded after catheter-removal and IV fluconazole but one patient did not in spite of catheter-removal and amphotericin B.
Acremonium ; Amphotericin B ; Catheters ; Central Venous Catheters* ; Colon ; Fluconazole ; Fungemia* ; Fungi ; Fusarium ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Sporothrix

Agarum clathratum, a brown macroalgae species, has recently become a serious environmental problem on the coasts of Korea. In an effort to solve this problem, fungal diversity associated with decaying A. clathratum was investigated and related β-glucosidase and endoglucanase activities were described. A total of 233 fungal strains were isolated from A. clathratum at 15 sites and identified 89 species based on morphology and a multigene analysis using the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and protein-coding genes including actin (act), β-tubulin (benA), calmodulin (CaM), and translation elongation factor (tef1). Acremonium, Corollospora, and Penicillium were the dominant genera, and Acremonium fuci and Corollospora gracilis were the dominant species. Fifty-one species exhibited cellulase activity, with A. fuci, Alfaria terrestris, Hypoxylon perforatum, P. madriti, and Pleosporales sp. Five showing the highest enzyme activities. Further enzyme quantification confirmed that these species had higher cellulase activity than P. crysogenum, a fungal species described in previous studies. This study lays the groundwork for bioremediation using fungi to remove decaying seaweed from populated areas and provides important background for potential industrial applications of environmentally friendly processes.
Acremonium ; Actins ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Calmodulin ; Cellulase ; Fungi ; Korea ; Penicillium ; Peptide Elongation Factors ; Seaweed

During a survey of fungal diversity of the order Hypocreales in Korea, two Acremonium isolates, CNUFC-1YSRS2-4 and CNUFC-GSNPF3-1, were isolated from soils collected on a bank of the Yeongsan River, Naju, and in a forest on the Mt. Daegak located on Sinsi Island, Gunsan, South Korea, respectively. Based on the morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer and D1/D2 domains of 28S ribosomal DNA, the isolates CNUFC-1YSRS2-4 and CNUFC-GSNPF3-1 were identified as A. variecolor and A. persicinum, respectively. These 2 species represent novel Hypocreales isolates in Korea.
Acremonium* ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Forests ; Hypocreales ; Jeollabuk-do ; Jeollanam-do ; Korea ; Rivers ; Sequence Analysis ; Soil*

During 2010 and 2012 grape harvest seasons in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, a white stain symptom was observed on the harvested grape fruits in 'Campbell-Early' and 'Kyoho' varieties. In samples collected from the infected vine, two different strains of pathogenic fungi have been found and identified as Acremonium acutatum and Trichothecium roseum based on fungal morphology and nucleotide sequence of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and supported by the phylogenetic analysis of the rDNA-ITS region. The DNA homologies of the isolated strains were 99.8% and 99.6% identical with T. roseum (IFB-22133) and A. acutatum (CBS682.71), respectively. In the pathogenicity test, the spores of A. acutatum and T. roseum sprayed on the grapes caused white stain symptoms on the fruits in two weeks after the artificial inoculation, which is similar to observations in the field. To our knowledge, this is the first report of white stain symptoms caused by A. acutatum and T. roseum on the grapes in Korea.
Acremonium* ; Base Sequence ; DNA ; Fruit ; Fungi ; Gyeonggi-do ; Korea ; Seasons ; Spores ; Virulence ; Vitis*

A total of 34 species belonging to 21 genera of fungi were recorded on passion fruits of both pure and hybrid origin in Uganda, however, the pure type exhibited wider spectrum (28 species and 16 genera) than the hybrid type (21 & 15). Also, yeasts (unidentified and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) were also encountered in high numbers. Moreover, the mean count of all mycobiota obtained from the pure type was higher than that of hybrid, despite the bigger size of the later. Members of yeasts and Cladosporium followed by Phoma, Penicillium, Fusarium and Alternaria species dominated on passion fruits of pure origin, while only C. cladosporioides, F. solani and yeasts dominated on the hybrid type. Treatment with Na-hypochlorite exhibited inhibitory effects on the total mycobiotic propagules as well as the dominant species from fruits of both types. The current results, therefore, suggest the use of Na-hypochlorite to control the post-harvest mycobiota associated with passion fruits. Regarding the mycobiota contaminating passion juice, yeasts were found to be the major contaminants with Candida parapsilosis being the most common. Moulds constituted only a minor proportion with Acremonium strictum followed by Fusarium chlamydosporum, F. moniliforme, F. acuminatum and F. solani as the most dominant species. In the heat-treated juice samples, the counts of the most commonly encountered mycobiota (both yeasts and molds) were significantly inhibited or completely eliminated. Some unidentified Bacillus species were also recovered from the juice, however, their counts in the heated samples were increased but insignificantly.
Acremonium ; Alternaria ; Bacillus ; Candida ; Cladosporium ; Fruit* ; Fungi ; Fusarium ; Heating* ; Hot Temperature* ; Penicillium ; Rhodotorula ; Uganda* ; Yeasts