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The form of (1-3)-b-d glucan found in the cell walls of the anamorphic Trichocomaceae that grow on damp building materials is considered to have potent toxic and inflammatory effects on cells of the respiratory system. It is also considered to have a potential role in the development of non-allergenic respiratory health effects. While human studies involving experimental exposures all point to the inflammatory potential of pure curdlan, a linear (1-3)-b-d glucan in a triple helix configuration, animal experiments result in conflicting conclusions concerning the inflammatory potency of this glucan. However, because mice appear to be a better model than guinea pigs for exploring the respiratory effects of curdlan and because molecular mechanisms associated with this glucan remain largely unknown, we conducted further work to clarify the role of curdlan on the inflammatory response using our mouse model of lung disease. This study used insitu hybridization (ISH) to probe dectin-1 mRNA transcription with a digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probe, with reverse transcription (RT)-PCR based arrays used to measure inflammation gene and receptor transcriptional responses. Also, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to probe dectin-1 as well as anti-mouse Ccl3, Il1-alpha, and TNF-alpha expression to evaluate dose and time-course (4 and 12h) postexposure (PE) response patterns in the lungs of intratracheally instilled mice exposed to a single 50kl dose of curdlan at 10 super(-7), 10 super(-8), 10 super(-9), and 10 super(-10)M/animal (=4kg to 4ng curdlan/kg lung wt). Dectin-1 mRNA transcription and expression was observed in bronchiolar epithelium, alveolar macrophages (AMs), and alveolar type II cells (ATIIs) of lungs exposed to 4kg to 40ng curdlan/kg lung wt, at both time points. Compared to controls, array analysis revealed that 54 of 83 genes assayed were significantly modulated by curdlan. mRNA transcription patterns showed both dose and time dependency, with highest transcription levels in 10 super(-7) and 10 super(-8)M treatment animals, especially at 4-h PE. Nine gene mRNA transcripts (Ccl3, Ccl11, Ccl17, Ifng, Il1a, Il-20, TNF-a, Tnfrsf1b, and CD40lg) were significantly expressed at all doses suggesting they may have a central role in immunomodulating curdlan exposures. IHC revealed Ccl3, Il1-alpha, and TNF-alpha expression in bronchiolar epithelium, AMs and ATIIs illustrate the important immunomodulatory role that these cells have in the recognition of, and response to glucan. Collectively, these results confirm the inflammatory nature of curdlan and demonstrate the complex of inflammation-associated gene responses induced by (1-3)-b-d glucan in triple helical forms. These observations also provide a biological basis for the irritant and inflammatory response to curdlan observed in humans and animals in experimental studies.

Blue mould, caused primarily by Penicillium expansum, is a major threat to the global pome fruit industry, causing multimillion‐dollar losses annually. The blue mould fungus negatively affects fruit quality, thereby reducing fresh fruit consumption, and significantly contributes to food loss. P. expansum also produces an array of mycotoxins that are detrimental to human health. Management options are limited and the emergence of fungicide‐resistant Penicillium spp. makes disease management difficult, therefore new approaches and tools are needed to combat blue mould in storage. This species profile comprises a comprehensive literature review of this aggressive pathogen associated with pomes (apple, pear, quince), focusing on biology, mechanisms of disease, control, genomics, and the newest developments in disease management. Taxonomy Penicillium expansum Link 1809. Domain Eukaryota, Kingdom Fungi, Phylum Ascomycota, Subphylum Pezizomycotina, Class Eurotiomycetes, Subclass: Eurotiomycetidae, Order Eurotiales; Family Trichocomaceae, Genus Penicillium, Species expansum. Biology A wide host range necrotrophic postharvest pathogen that requires a wound (e.g., stem pull, punctures, bruises, shoulder cracks) or natural openings (e.g., lenticel, stem end, calyx sinus) to gain ingress and infect. Toxins Patulin, citrinin, chaetoglobosins, communesins, roquefortine C, expansolides A and B, ochratoxin A, penitrem A, rubratoxin B, and penicillic acid. Host range Primarily apples, European pear, Asian pear, medlar, and quince. Blue mould has also been reported on stone fruits (cherry, plum, peach), small fruits (grape, strawberry, kiwi), and hazel nut. Disease symptoms Blue mould initially appears as light tan to dark brown circular lesions with a defined margin between the decayed and healthy tissues. The decayed tissue is soft and watery, and blue‐green spore masses appear on the decayed area, starting at the infection site and radiating outward as the decayed area ages. Disease control Preharvest fungicides with postharvest activity and postharvest fungicides are primarily used to control decay. Orchard and packinghouse sanitation methods are also critical components of an integrated pest management strategy. Useful websites Penn State Tree Fruit Production Guide (https://extension.psu.edu/forage‐and‐food‐crops/fruit), Washington State Comprehensive Tree Fruit (http://treefruit.wsu.edu/crop‐protection/disease‐management/blue‐mold/), The Apple Rot Doctor (https://waynejurick.wixsite.com/applerotdr), penicillium expansum genome sequences and resources (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/browse/#!/eukaryotes/11336/). This article is a synthesis and compilation of the latest information on the mycotoxingenic blue mould fungus from multiple perspectives that entail omics, biology, and tools for decay control.

From the marine-derived fungus Penicillium sumatrense (Trichocomaceae), a pair of enantiomers [(+)-1 and (−)-1] were isolated with identical 1D NMR data to drazepinone, which was originally reported to have a trisubstituted naphthofuroazepinone skeleton. In this study, we confirmed the structures of the two enantiomers as drazepinone and revised their structures by detailed analysis of extensive 2D NMR data and a comparison of the calculated 13C chemical shifts, ECD, VCD, and ORD spectra with those of the experiment ones. (+)-1 and (−)-1 were evaluated for their PTP inhibitory activity in vitro. (−)-1 showed selective PTP inhibitory activity against PTP1B and TCPTP with IC50 values of 1.56 and 12.5 μg/mL, respectively.

Fungi comprise the second most species-rich organism group after that of insects. Recent estimates hypothesized that the currently reported fungal species range from 3.5 to 5.1 million types worldwide. Fungi can grow in a wide range of habitats, from the desert to the depths of the sea. Most develop in terrestrial environments, but several species live only in aquatic habitats, and some live in symbiotic relationships with plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi have been proved to be a rich source of biologically active natural products, some of which are clinically important drugs such as the β-lactam antibiotics, penicillin and cephalosporin, the immunosuppressant, cyclosporine, and the cholesterol-lowering drugs, compactin and lovastatin. Given the estimates of fungal biodiversity, it is easy to perceive that only a small fraction of fungi worldwide have ever been investigated regarding the production of biologically valuable compounds. Traditionally, fungi are classified primarily based on the structures associated with sexual reproduction. Thus, the genus Neosartorya (Family Trichocomaceae) is the telemorphic (sexual state) of the Aspergillus section known as Fumigati, which produces both a sexual state with ascospores and an asexual state with conidiospores, while the Aspergillus species produces only conidiospores. However, according to the Melbourne Code of nomenclature, only the genus name Aspergillus is to be used for both sexual and asexual states. Consequently, the genus name Neosartorya was no longer to be used after 1 January 2013. Nevertheless, the genus name Neosartorya is still used for the fungi that had already been taxonomically classified before the new rule was in force. Another aspect is that despite the small number of species (23 species) in the genus Neosartorya, and although less than half of them have been investigated chemically, the chemical diversity of this genus is impressive. Many chemical classes of compounds, some of which have unique scaffolds, such as indole alkaloids, peptides, meroterpenes, and polyketides, have been reported from its terrestrial, marine-derived, and endophytic species. Though the biological and pharmacological activities of a small fraction of the isolated metabolites have been investigated due to the available assay systems, they exhibited relevant biological and pharmacological activities, such as anticancer, antibacterial, antiplasmodial, lipid-lowering, and enzyme-inhibitory activities.

Penicillium and Talaromyces species have a worldwide distribution and are isolated from various materials and hosts, including insects and their substrates. The aim of this study was to characterize the Penicillium and Talaromyces species obtained during a survey of honey, pollen and the inside of nests of Melipona scutellaris. A total of 100 isolates were obtained during the survey and 82% of those strains belonged to Penicillium and 18% to Talaromyces. Identification of these isolates was performed based on phenotypic characters and β-tubulin and ITS sequencing. Twenty-one species were identified in Penicillium and six in Talaromyces, including seven new species. These new species were studied in detail using a polyphasic approach combining phenotypic, molecular and extrolite data. The four new Penicillium species belong to sections Sclerotiora (Penicillium fernandesiae sp. nov., Penicillium mellis sp. nov., Penicillium meliponae sp. nov.) and Gracilenta (Penicillium apimei sp. nov.) and the three new Talaromyces species to sections Helici (Talaromyces pigmentosus sp. nov.), Talaromyces (Talaromyces mycothecae sp. nov.) and Trachyspermi (Talaromyces brasiliensis sp. nov.). The invalidly described species Penicillium echinulonalgiovense sp. nov. was also isolated during the survey and this species is validated here.

DNA sequences were determined for beta tubulin (BT2), calmodulin (CF), ITS and lsu rDNA (ID) and RNA polymerase II (RPB2) from ca. 460 Aspergillus isolates. RPB2 and rDNA sequences were combined and analyzed to determine relationships in the genus and in the family Trichocomaceae. Eupenicillium species form a statistically supported clade with origins among the Aspergillus clades. A. crystallinus, A. malodoratus and H. paradoxus are members of the Eupenicillium clade. A. zonatus, A. clavatoflvus and W. spinulosa occur in a clade along with Hamigera sp. Other than these exceptional species, Aspergillus species and sections occur on three strongly supported clades that descend from a polytomy. Section Versicolores as a monophyletic group includes only A. versicolor and A. sydowii and is superfluous. The other sections were retained but modified. All four loci were used in genealogical concordance analysis of species boundaries. Fennellia flavipes and F. nivea are not conspecific with their supposed anamorphs A. flavipes and A. nivea. Synonymies were found for some species and more than 20 undescribed taxa were identified in genealogical concordance analysis. Newly discovered taxa will be described elsewhere. Possibly paralogous gene fragments were amplified with the BT2 primers in sections Nidulantes, Usti and Nigri. Use of nonhomologous sequences in genealogical concordance analysis could lead to false conclusions and so BT2 sequences were not used in analysis of those sections.

Soil microbial community structure is altered by petroleum contamination in response to compound toxicity and degradation. Understanding the relation between petroleum contamination and soil microbial community structure is crucial to determine the amenability of contaminated soils to bacterial- and fungal-aided remediation. To understand how petroleum contamination and soil physicochemical properties jointly shaped the microbial structure of soils from different oilfields, high-throughput sequencing of 16S and ITS amplicons were used to evaluate the shifts of microbial communities in the petroleum-contaminated soils in Ughelli East (UE), Utorogu (UT), and Ughelli West (UW) oilfields located in Delta State, Nigeria. The results showed 1515 bacteria and 919 fungal average OTU number, and community richness and diversity, trending as AL > UT > UW > UE and AL > UW > UT > UE for bacteria, and AL > UW > UT > UE and UW > UT > AL > UE for fungi, respectively. The bacterial taxa KCM-B - 112, unclassified Saccharibacteria, unclassified Rhizobiales, Desulfurellaceae, and Acidobacteriaceae and fungal Trichocomaceae, unclassified Ascomycota, unclassified Sporidiobolales, and unclassified Fungi were found to be the dominant families in petroleum-contaminated soils. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that total carbon (TC), electric conductivity (EC), pH, and moisture content (MO) were the major drivers of bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS) analysis exhibited that the differences in C 7 –C 10 , C 11 –C 16 , and C 12 –C 29 compounds in the crude oil composition and soil MO content jointly constituted the microbial community variance among the contaminated soils. This study revealed the bacterial and fungal communities responsible for the biodegradation of petroleum contamination from these oilfields, which could serve as biomarkers to monitor oil spill site restoration within these areas. Further studies on these contaminated sites could offer useful insights into other contributing factors such as heavy metals.

Fungi play an important role in bioremediation of contaminated soil. However, the diversity of fungal populations in four mine-contaminated soils located in Hechi City has remained unexplored. In this study, high-throughput sequencing of ITS was performed to investigate the diversity and abundance of fungal communities in four mine-contaminated soils in Hechi city. Phylogenetic taxonomy showed that the fungal communities included five phyla. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most abundant phyla in four samples. The most abundant fungi included Agaricomycetes, Nectriaceae, Eurotiomycetes, Mortierellaceae, Incertae sedis, Trichocomaceae, Sordariomycetes, and Fusarium. Various fungi with the potential of bioremediation and industrial application were discussed. The results of fungal composition will provide a clue for isolation of new fungi with the potential of bioremediation and industrial application. Furthermore, this study will lay a good foundation for modifying the indigenous fungi by genetic engineering in the future.

Abundant phosphorus (P) has been applied to paddy fields in the red soil region of subtropical China. Microbial communities play important roles in soil nutrient cycling; however, the effects of P surplus on soil microbial diversity and community composition are still unclear. Soils collected from paddy fields in subtropical China was incubated and subjected to four P treatments: 33 kg ha−1 (CK), 66 kg ha−1 (P1), 132 kg ha−1 (P2), and 264 kg ha−1 (P3). Changes in bacterial and fungal diversity and community composition were evaluated by high-throughput sequencing. The different P rates had no significant effect on bacterial diversity, whereas fungal richness and diversity indexes declined significantly by increasing P rates. Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) also indicated a shift in fungal community composition when P rates were higher than 132 kg ha−1. Available P (AP) was the dominant factor affecting fungal community composition as evaluated by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Multivariate regression trees (MRT) revealed that the key threshold of 53.6 mg kg−1 of AP divided treatments into two distinct groups. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) showed that abundances of Pseudogymnoascus and Geomyces increased, but those of Penicillium and an unknown genus of Trichocomaceae decreased when AP was ≥ 53.6 mg kg−1.

An unreported isocoumarin, (3S,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methoxymellein (2), an undescribed propylpyridinium anthraquinone (4), and an unreported C-glucosyl resorcinol derivative, acetyl carnemycin E (5c), were isolated, together with eight previously reported metabolites including p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1), 1,3-dimethoxy-8-hydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone (3a), 1,3-dimethoxy-2,8-dihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone (3b), emodin (3c), 5[(3E,5E)-nona-3,5-dien-1-yl]benzene (5a), carnemycin E (5b), tajixanthone hydrate (6a) and 15-acetyl tajixanthone hydrate (6b), from the ethyl acetate extract of the culture of a marine sponge-derived fungus, Aspergillus stellatus KUFA 2017. The structures of the undescribed compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution mass spectral analyses. In the case of 2, the absolute configurations of the stereogenic carbons were determined by comparison of their calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The absolute configurations of the stereogenic carbons in 6a and 6b were also determined, for the first time, by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compounds 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, and 6b were assayed for antibacterial activity against four reference strains, viz. two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212) and two Gram-negative (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853), as well as three multidrug-resistant strains. However, only 5a exhibited significant antibacterial activity against both reference and multidrug-resistant strains. Compound 5a also showed antibiofilm activity against both reference strains of Gram-positive bacteria.