Journal
PERSOONIA
Volume 27, Issue -, Pages 46-72Publisher
RIJKSHERBARIUM
DOI: 10.3767/003158511X614258
Keywords
amphibian disease; black yeasts; Chaetothyriales; Exophiala; fish disease; lethargic crab disease; pathogenicity; waterborne fungi
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Funding
- Coordenacao de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)
- Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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The majority of mesophilic waterborne species of the black yeast genus Exophiala (Chaetothyriales) belong to a single clade judging from SSU rDNA data. Most taxa are also found to cause cutaneous or disseminated infections in cold-blooded, water animals, occasionally reaching epidemic proportions. Hosts are mainly fish, frogs, toads, turtles or crabs, all sharing smooth, moist or mucous skins and waterborne or amphibian lifestyles; occasionally superficial infections in humans are noted. Cold-blooded animals with strictly terrestrial life styles, such as reptiles and birds are missing. It is concluded that animals with moist skins, i.e. those being waterborne and those possessing sweat glands, are more susceptible to black yeast infection. Melanin and the ability to assimilate alkylbenzenes are purported general virulence factors. Thermotolerance influences the choice of host. Exophiala species in ocean water mostly have maximum growth temperatures below 30 degrees C, whereas those able to grow until 33(-36) degrees C are found in shallow waters and occasionally on humans. Tissue responses vary with the phylogenetic position of the host, the lower animals showing poor granulome formation. Species circumscriptions have been determined by multilocus analyses involving partial ITS, TEF1, BT2 and ACT1.
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