The fungi on Meju are known to play an important role as degrader of macromolecule of soybeans. In order to elucidate the origin of fungi on traditional Meju, mycobiota of the air both inside and outside traditional Meju fermentation rooms was examined. From 11 samples of air collected from inside and outside of 7 Meju fermentation rooms, 37 genera and 90 species of fungi were identified. In outside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp. and Cladosporium cladosporioides were the dominant species, followed by Cladosporium tenuissimum, Eurotium sp., Phoma sp., Sistotrema brinkmannii, Alternaria sp., Aspergillus fumigatus, Schizophyllum commune, and Penicillium glabrum. In inside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium chrysogenum, Asp. nidulans, Aspergillus sp., Cla. cladosporioides, Eurotium sp., Penicillium sp., Cla. tenuissimum, Asp. niger, Eur. herbariorum, Asp. sydowii, and Eur. repens were collected with high frequency. The concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium were significantly higher in inside air than outside air. From this result and those of previous reports, the origin of fungi present on Meju was inferred. Of the dominant fungal species present on Meju, Lichtheimia ramosa, Mucor circinelloides, Mucor racemosus, and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis are thought to be originated from outside air, because these species are not or are rarely isolated from rice straw and soybean; however, they were detected outside air of fermentation room and are species commonly found in indoor environments. However, Asp. oryzae, Pen. polonicum, Eur. repens, Pen. solitum, and Eur. chevalieri, which are frequently found on Meju, are common in rice straw and could be transferred from rice straw to Meju. The fungi grow and produce abundant spores during Meju fermentation, and after the spores accumulate in the air of fermentation room, they could influence mycobiota of Meju fermentation in the following year. This could explain why concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium are much higher inside than outside of the fermentation rooms.
Alternaria ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Aspergillus nidulans ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Cladosporium ; Eurotium ; Fermentation* ; Fungi* ; Mucor ; Niger ; Oryza ; Penicillium ; Penicillium chrysogenum ; Schizophyllum ; Scopulariopsis ; Soybeans ; Spores ; Viperidae

Members of the genus Aspergillus are the most common fungi and all reproduce asexually by forming long chains of conidiospores (or conidia). The impact of various Aspergillus species on humans ranges from beneficial to harmful. For example, several species including Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger are used in industry for enzyme production and food processing. In contrast, Aspergillus flavus produce the most potent naturally present carcinogen aflatoxins, which contaminate various plant- and animal-based foods. Importantly, the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus has become the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen in developed countries, causing invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients with a high mortality rate. A. fumigatus produces a massive number of small hydrophobic conidia as the primary means of dispersal, survival, genome-protection, and infecting hosts. Large-scale genome-wide expression studies can now be conducted due to completion of A. fumigatus genome sequencing. However, genomics becomes more powerful and informative when combined with genetics. We have been investigating the mechanisms underlying the regulation of asexual development (conidiation) and gliotoxin biosynthesis in A. fumigatus, primarily focusing on a characterization of key developmental regulators identified in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In this review, I will summarize our current understanding of how conidiation in two aspergilli is regulated.
Aflatoxins ; Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus flavus ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Aspergillus nidulans ; Aspergillus niger ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Developed Countries ; Food Handling ; Fungi ; Genome ; Genomics ; Gliotoxin ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Spores, Fungal ; Transcription Factors

Ethanol treatment method was attempted for the selective isolation of ethanol-tolerant fungi from two sites of rice paddy fields around Seoul area. The vertical and seasonal fluctuation of the fungal population were also investigated. The ethanoltolerant fungi were Talaromyces stipitatus, T. flavus var. flavus, T. helicus var. major, Eupenicillium javanicum, Emericellopsis terricolor, Pseudourotium zonatum, Aspergillus flavus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium frequentans, P. janthinellum, and P. verruculosum. The most dominant species isolated by this method was T. stipitatus. It was found that the numbers of fungal species and colony forming units (CFUs) of ethanol-tolerant fungi were higher in Ascomycota than in Deuteromycota. A particular tendency appeared the highest CFUs in autumn, but lower in spring and winter. T. stipitatus was the dominant species of ethanol tolerant microfungi. This result would suggest that membrane lipid composition of ethanoltolerant fungi isolated from the soils may play on important role in the ethanol tolerance.
Ascomycota ; Aspergillus flavus ; Cladosporium ; Ethanol ; Eupenicillium ; Fungi ; Membranes ; Mitosporic Fungi ; Penicillium ; Seasons ; Seoul ; Soil* ; Stem Cells ; Talaromyces

OBJECTIVETo screen antifungal activity of endophytes from Pseudolarix kaempferi.

METHODEndophytes from P. kaempferi were separated. By means of microdilution method, antifungal active endophytes were fast screened by Pyricularia oryzae P-2b model, and activity of endophytes against pathogenic fungus was studied.

RESULT44.8% of endophytes showed activity against P. oryzae P-2b in Pseudolarix kaempferi. Among them JJ314, JJ323 introduced formation of characteristic beads and swellings on the growing hyphae, JJ324 inhibited the conidia germination. They all showed activity against Trichophyton rubrum, Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans.

CONCLUSIONEndophytes from P. kaempferi are a potential resource for the development of antifungal agent.

Antifungal Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; Cryptococcus ; drug effects ; Fungi ; chemistry ; classification ; isolation & purification ; Mitosporic Fungi ; drug effects ; Pinaceae ; microbiology ; Plants, Medicinal ; microbiology ; Symbiosis ; Trichophyton ; drug effects

AIMA series of triazole antifungals were synthesized to search for novel triazole antifungals with more potent activity, less toxicity and broader spectrum.

METHODSNineteen 1-(1,2,4-triazolyl-1H-1-yl)-2-(2,4-diflurophenyl)-3-(4-substituted benzyl-1-piperazinyl)-2-propanols were designed and synthesized, on basis of the three dimensional structure of P450 cytochrome 14 alpha-sterol demethylase (CYP51) and their antifungal activities were also evaluated.

RESULTSAll the title compounds were first reported. Results of preliminary biological tests showed that most of the title compounds exhibited high activity against the eight common pathogenic fungi and the activities against deep fungi were higher than that against shallow fungi.

CONCLUSIONMost of the title compounds showed higher antifungal activities than Fluconazole and Terbinafine. Compound VIII-1, 10, 12, 17 showed best antifungal activity with broad antifungal spectrum and were chosen for further development.

Antifungal Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; drug effects ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; drug effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Structure ; Triazoles ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Zinc is an essential micronutrient required for many enzymes that play essential roles in a cell. It was estimated that approximately 3% of the total cellular proteins are required for zinc for their functions. Zinc has long been considered as one of the key players in host-pathogen interactions. The host sequesters intracellular zinc by utilizing multiple cellular zinc importers and exporters as a means of nutritional immunity. To overcome extreme zinc limitation within the host environment, pathogenic microbes have successfully evolved a number of mechanisms to secure sufficient concentrations of zinc for their survival and pathogenesis. In this review, we briefly discuss the zinc uptake systems and their regulation in the model fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in major human pathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, and Cryptococcus gattii.
Aspergillus fumigatus ; Candida albicans ; Cryptococcus gattii ; Fungi* ; Host-Pathogen Interactions ; Humans ; Micronutrients ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Virulence ; Zinc*

Microorganisms are significantly affected when the ambient pH of their environment changes. They must therefore be able to sense and respond to these changes in order to survive. Previous investigators have studied various fungal species to define conserved pH-responsive signaling pathways. One of these pathways, known as the Pal/Rim pathway, is activated in response to alkaline pH signals, ultimately targeting the PacC/Rim101 transcription factor. Although the central signaling components are conserved among divergent filamentous and yeast-like fungi, there is some degree of signaling specificity between fungal species. This specificity exists primarily in the downstream transcriptional targets of this pathway, likely allowing differential adaptation to species-specific environmental niches. In this review, the role of the Pal/Rim pathway in fungal pH response is discussed. Also highlighted are functional differences present in this pathway among human fungal pathogens, differences that allow these specialized microorganisms to survive in the various micro-environments of the infected human host.
Aspergillus nidulans ; Candida albicans ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; Fungi ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Research Personnel ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors ; Yeasts

Aspergillus niger isolated from Allium sativum was used at large scale fermentation (150 mg flavone/200 ml medium) to obtain suitable amounts of the products, efficient for identification. Then spectral analysis (UV, IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR) and mass spectrometry were performed for the two products, which contributed to the identification process. The metabolite (1) was identified as 2'-hydroxydihydrochalcone, and the metabolite (2) was identified as 2'-hydroxyphenylmethylketone, which were more active than flavone itself. Antioxidant activities of the two isolated metabolites were tested compared with ascorbic acid. Antioxidant activity of metabolite (1) was recorded 64.58% which represented 79% of the antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid, and metabolite (2) was recorded 54.16% (67% of ascorbic acid activity). However, the antioxidant activity of flavone was recorded 37.50% which represented 46% of ascorbic acid activity. The transformed products of flavone have antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans, with MIC was recorded 250 microg/ml for metabolite (2) against all three organism and 500, 300, and 300 microg/ml for metabolite (1) against tested microorganisms (P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Klebsiella pneumonia, Fusarium moniliforme, A. flavus, Saccharomyces cerviceae, Kluveromyces lactis and C. albicans) at this order.
Ascorbic Acid ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus flavus ; Aspergillus niger ; Bacillus subtilis ; Biotransformation ; Candida albicans ; Escherichia coli ; Fermentation ; Flavones ; Fusarium ; Garlic ; Klebsiella ; Mass Spectrometry ; Pneumonia ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Saccharomyces

Various soil samples were collected from twenty-four areas of ten different poultry farms in Korea and screened for prevalence of keratinolytic fungi. Fourteen species of feather-associated fungi belonging to ten genera Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Monascus, Mucor, Penicillum, and Verticillium isolated from poultry soils were grown on keratin medium. Especially, Aspergillus spp. populations associated with the soil sample is 1x10(5) cfu/g. A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. nidulans, and A. terreus could utilize keratin of chicken feather and degrade it, producing sulphydryl-containing compounds detected as keratinase, cysteine and total proteins. Keratinolytic activities of five Aspergillus species also changed the pH of the medium more alkaline than those that were less keratinolytic.
Acremonium ; Alternaria ; Animals ; Aspergillus* ; Chickens ; Cladosporium ; Cysteine ; Feathers ; Fungi ; Fusarium ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Korea* ; Monascus ; Mucor ; Niger ; Poultry* ; Prevalence ; Soil* ; Verticillium

During the study of soil mycoflora in Jinju-shi in 1997, a dematiaceous hyphomycete, Gonytrichum macrocladum , was isolated using the soil dilute plating method. The isolate was recovered with very low frequencies and recorded for the first time in Korea. illustrated descriptions are presented for the isolate examined in the present study.
Korea* ; Mitosporic Fungi* ; Soil*