63 strains of Aspergillus section Fumigati were isolated from 17 samples of arable soil in a central province of Korea. Based on the results of genotypic and phenotypic analyses, they were identified as Aspergillus fumigatus, A. lentulus, Neosartorya coreana, N. fennelliae, N. fischeri, N. glabra, N. hiratsukae, N. laciniosa, N. pseudofischeri, N. quadricincta, N. spinosa and N. udagawae. Among these, N. fennelliae, N. hiratsukae, N. quadricincta, and N. udagawae had not been previously recorded in Korea. The diversity of Aspergillus section Fumigati species from arable soil in Korea is also addressed.
Aspergillus ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Korea ; Neosartorya ; Soil

Korean Institute of Tuberculosis (KIT) collected 129 strains of Aspergillus spp. from clinical specimens of patient suspected as pulmonary Aspergillosis. On the basis of morphological characteristics, these strains were identified as A. fumigatus (62 strains), A. niger (37), A. flavus (26), A. versicolor (1), A. nidulans (1), A. clavatus (1) and Neosartorya fennelliae (1). These strains were re-identified according to recent Aspergillus classification system which is mainly based on molecular characters. The strains were grouped by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The representative strains from each group were sequenced with partial betatubulin gene and compared with those of reference strains in the Aspergillus and were identified by the sequence. The identification was confirmed by morphological examination. As the results, they are reidentified as A. fumigatus (58), A. niger (11), A. tubingensis (26), A. flavus (27), A. sydowii (3), A. nidulans (1), A. clavatus (1), Neosartorya fennelliae (1), N. fischeri (1). This is also the first report of A. tubuingensis in clinical field in Korea.
Aspergillus ; DNA ; Humans ; Korea ; Neosartorya ; Niger ; Pulmonary Aspergillosis ; Tuberculosis

Korean Institute of Tuberculosis (KIT) collected 129 strains of Aspergillus spp. from clinical specimens of patient suspected as pulmonary Aspergillosis. On the basis of morphological characteristics, these strains were identified as A. fumigatus (62 strains), A. niger (37), A. flavus (26), A. versicolor (1), A. nidulans (1), A. clavatus (1) and Neosartorya fennelliae (1). These strains were re-identified according to recent Aspergillus classification system which is mainly based on molecular characters. The strains were grouped by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The representative strains from each group were sequenced with partial betatubulin gene and compared with those of reference strains in the Aspergillus and were identified by the sequence. The identification was confirmed by morphological examination. As the results, they are reidentified as A. fumigatus (58), A. niger (11), A. tubingensis (26), A. flavus (27), A. sydowii (3), A. nidulans (1), A. clavatus (1), Neosartorya fennelliae (1), N. fischeri (1). This is also the first report of A. tubuingensis in clinical field in Korea.
Aspergillus ; DNA ; Humans ; Korea ; Neosartorya ; Niger ; Pulmonary Aspergillosis ; Tuberculosis

Small, cysteine-rich, highly stable antifungal proteins secreted by filamentous Ascomycetes have great potential for the development of novel antifungal strategies. However, their practical application is still limited due to their not fully clarified mode of action. The aim of this work was to provide a deep insight into the antifungal mechanism of Neosartorya fischeri antifungal protein (NFAP), a novel representative of this protein group. Within a short exposure time to NFAP, reduced cellular metabolism, apoptosis induction, changes in the actin distribution and chitin deposition at the hyphal tip were observed in NFAP-sensitive Aspergillus nidulans. NFAP did show neither a direct membrane disrupting-effect nor uptake by endocytosis. Investigation of A. nidulans signalling mutants revealed that NFAP activates the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway via G-protein signalling which leads to apoptosis and inhibition of polar growth. In contrast, NFAP does not have any influence on the cell wall integrity pathway, but an unknown cell wall integrity pathway-independent mitogen activated protein kinase A-activated target is assumed to be involved in the cell death induction. Taken together, it was concluded that NFAP shows similarities, but also differences in its mode of antifungal action compared to two most investigated NFAP-related proteins from Aspergillus giganteus and Penicillium chrysogenum.
Actins ; metabolism ; Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Aspergillus nidulans ; cytology ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Cell Membrane ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cell Wall ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Chitin ; metabolism ; Endocytosis ; drug effects ; Fungal Proteins ; pharmacology ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Hyphae ; cytology ; drug effects ; Microbial Viability ; drug effects ; Neosartorya ; chemistry ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects