STOMACH CONTENTS ANALYSIS of WHITE MARLIN (TETRAPTURUS ALBIDUS) CAUGHT OFF SOUTHERN and SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL: A BAYESIAN ANALYSIS.

This study proposes to ascertain the importance of each alimentary category in the Tetrapturus albidus diet composition, as well as to propose the use of the Bayesian approach for analysis of these data. The stomachs were collected during fishing cruises carried out by the Santos-SP longliner from July 2007 to June 2008. For Bayesian model formulation, each alimentary item was clustered in four food categories as: teleost, cephalopod, crustaceans, and others. To estimate the proportion of each food category, the multinomial model with Dirichlet conjugate prior distribution was used. After the stomach contents analysis, 133 food items were identified, which belonged to 9 taxa. The most important food category is constituted by cephalopod molluscs, followed by teleost fishes. The food category comprised of crustaceans presents a low contribution and in this case it could be considered to be an accidental food item. The Bayesian approach means a distinct view in relation to traditional methods, as it permits one to incorporate information obtained from the literature. It should be useful to analyse great top predators, which are usually caught in small numbers.

Molecular typing of IberoAmerican Cryptococcus neoformans isolates

A network was established to acquire basic knowledge of Cryptococcus neoformans in IberoAmerican countries. To this effect, 340 clinical, veterinary, and environmental isolates from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Spain were typed by using M13 polymerase chain reaction-fingerprinting and orotidine monophosphate pyrophosphorylase (URA5) gene restriction fragment length polymorphsm analysis with Hhal and Sau961 in a double digest. Both techniques grouped all isolates into eight previously established molecular types. The majority of the isolates, 68.2% (n=232), were VNI (var. grubii, serotype A), which accords with the fact that this variety causes most human cryptococcal infections worldwide. A smaller proportion, 5.6% (n=19), were VNII (var. grubii, serotype A); 4.1% (n=14), VNIII (AD hybrid), with 9 isolates having a polymorphism in the URA5 gene; 1.8% (n=6), VNIV (var. neoformans, serotype D); 3.5% (n=12), VGI; 6.2% (n=21), VGII; 9.1% (n=31), VGIII, and 1.5% (n=5) VGIV, with all four VG types containing var. gattii serotypes B and C isolates.

Comparative study of disk diffusion and microdilution methods for evaluation of antifungal activity of natural compounds against medical yeasts Candida spp and Cryptococcus sp

Antifungal activity of natural products has been tested by adapting methods designed for synthetic drugs. In this study, two methods for the determination of antifungal activity of natural products, agar diffusion and broth microdilution, the CLSI reference methods for synthetic drugs, are compared and discussed. The microdilution method was more sensitive. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of crude extracts, fractions and pure substances from different species of the plant families Piperaceae, Rubiaceae, Clusiaceae, Fabaceae and Lauraceae, from the Biota project, were determined. Antifungal activities against Candida albicans, C.krusei, C.parapsilosis and Cryptococcus neoformans were produced by several samples.

Cryptococcosis: epidemiology, fungal resistance, and new alternatives for treatment

Cryptococcosis is an important systemic mycosis and the third most prevalent disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals. The incidence of cryptococcosis is high among the 25 million people with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with recent estimates indicating that there are one million cases of cryptococcal meningitis globally per year in AIDS patients. In Cryptococcus neoformans, resistance to azoles may be associated with alterations in the target enzyme encoded by the gene ERG11, lanosterol 14α-demethylase. These alterations are obtained through mutations, or by overexpressing the gene encoding. In addition, C. gattii and C. neoformans present a heteroresistance phenotype, which may be related to increased virulence. Other species beyond C. neoformans and C. gattii, such as C. laurentii, have been diagnosed mainly in patients with immunosuppression. Infections of C. albidus have been isolated in cats and marine mammals. Recent evidence suggests that the majority of infections produced by this pathogen are associated with biofilm growth, which is also related with increased resistance to antifungal agents. Therefore, there is a great need to search for alternative antifungal agents for these fungi. The search for new molecules is currently occurring from nanoparticle drugs of plant peptide origin. This article presents a brief review of the literature regarding the epidemiology of cryptococcosis, as well as fungal resistance and new alternatives for treatment. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Sensibilidade à antifúngicos sintéticos e naturais anti-Cryptococcus neoformans determinados por citometria de fluxo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Perfil fenotípico e de expressão de proteínas de Cryptococcus neoformans após tratamento com substâncias obtidas da planta Pterogyne nitens

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Antifúngicos naturais e sintéticos: estudo dos mecanismos de ação em sistema de infecção in vitro empregando cepas de Cryptococcus

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização do gene ERG11 envolvido na resistência de Cryptococcus neoformans e Cryptococcus gatti as drogas azólicas e identificação de novos alvos a partir de produtos naturais

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cryptococcus neoformans de fontes ambientais e biopropecção de extratos de plantas com atividade saneante

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Tipagem molecular, perfis de sensibilidade e caracterização de transcritos diferencialmente expressos durante a infecção de Cryptococcus neoformans

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Environmental isolation, biochemical identification, and antifungal drug susceptibility of Cryptococcus species

Introduction The incidence of opportunistic fungal infections has increased in recent years and is considered an important public health problem. Among systemic and opportunistic mycoses, cryptococcosis is distinguished by its clinical importance due to the increased risk of infection in individuals infected by human immunodeficiency virus. Methods To determine the occurrence of pathogenic Cryptococcus in pigeon excrement in the City of Araraquara, samples were collected from nine environments, including state and municipal schools, abandoned buildings, parks, and a hospital. The isolates were identified using classical tests, and susceptibility testing for the antifungal drugs (fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, and amphotericin B) independently was also performed. After collection, the excrement samples were plated on Niger agar and incubated at room temperature. Results A total of 87 bird dropping samples were collected, and 66.6% were positive for the genus Cryptococcus. The following species were identified: Cryptococcus neoformans (17.2%), Cryptococcus gattii (5.2%), Cryptococcus ater (3.5%), Cryptococcus laurentti (1.7%), and Cryptococcus luteolus (1.7%). A total of 70.7% of the isolates were not identified to the species level and are referred to as Cryptococcus spp. throughout the manuscript. Conclusions Although none of the isolates demonstrated resistance to antifungal drugs, the identification of infested areas, the proper control of birds, and the disinfection of these environments are essential for the epidemiological control of cryptococcosis.

Ancient Dispersal of the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus gattii from the Amazon Rainforest

Over the past two decades, several fungal outbreaks have occurred, including the high-profile 'Vancouver Island' and 'Pacific Northwest' outbreaks, caused by Cryptococcus gattii, which has affected hundreds of otherwise healthy humans and animals. Over the same time period, C. gattii was the cause of several additional case clusters at localities outside of the tropical and subtropical climate zones where the species normally occurs. In every case, the causative agent belongs to a previously rare genotype of C. gattii called AFLP6/VGII, but the origin of the outbreak clades remains enigmatic. Here we used phylogenetic and recombination analyses, based on AFLP and multiple MLST datasets, and coalescence gene genealogy to demonstrate that these outbreaks have arisen from a highly-recombining C. gattii population in the native rainforest of Northern Brazil. Thus the modern virulent C. gattii AFLP6/VGII outbreak lineages derived from mating events in South America and then dispersed to temperate regions where they cause serious infections in humans and animals.

Immunoreactivity of synthetic peptides derived from proteins of Cryptococcus gattii

Aim: To determine the immunoreactivity of synthetic Cryptococcus-derived peptides. Materials & methods: A total of 63 B-cell epitopes from previously identified Cryptococcus gattii immunoreactive proteins were synthesized and evaluated as antigens in ELISAs. The peptides were first evaluated for their ability to react against sera from immunocompetent subjects carrying cryptococcal meningitis. Peptides that yielded high sensitivity and specificity in the first test were then retested with sera from individuals with other fungal pathologies for cross-reactivity determination. Results: Six of 63 synthetic peptides were recognized by antibodies in immunoassays, with a specificity of 100%, sensitivity of 78% and low cross-reactivity. Conclusion: We successfully determined the immunoreactivity of selected synthetic peptides of C. gattii derived proteins.

Caracterização morfológica e fenotípica de leveduras do gênero Cryptococcus com ênfase na pesquisa de Cryptococcus neoormans isoladas de amostras de água de mar e areia de três ambientes costeiros do estado de São Paulo: Canal de São Sebastião, Baixada Santista e Ubatuba

The yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is the etiologic agent of cryptococcosis, an infectious cosmopolitan disease that affects humans. Although rare, this disease is potentially fatal, especially for immunocompromised hosts. This pathogen is frequently isolated from excrements of pigeons and parrots, with many environmental sources such as birds, pigeon droppings, eucalyptus leaves, decaying trees, towers, churches and places of storage of grain (the port area). The isolation of this microorganism has been obtained also from the aquatic environment. The identification of environmental sources is needed to protect human health, especially susceptible populations such as immunocompromised. Therefore, this study investigated the presence of Cryptococcus neoformans in yeast isolates obtained from samples of sea water and sand from three regions of São Paulo: São Sebastião Channel, Santos and Ubatuba. Isolates were analyzed according to micro-and macroscopic characteristics and biochemical tests: microculture, urease, ink nankin, auxanograma, zymogram and phenol. We analyzed 199 isolates, 175 of which had features suggestive for Cryptococcus spp. in microculture. All these 175 isolates were sown in the Christensen urea middle to verify the production of urease and submitted to the technique nankin ink to visualize the capsule. Of these, only 24 were selected for the next test that was the auxanograma (assimilation of carbohydrate and nitrogen). Of the 24, 10 were tested in zymograms (fermented sugar), from which 5 were selected for the phenoloxidase test in medium containing dopamine. None of the 5 isolates tested had black or brown color characteristic of Cryptococcus neoformans. According to these tests, we arrived at 5 isolates identified to the genus Cryptococcus, but not the neoformans specie

Triagem de substâncias antifúngicas com atividade inibitória de bombas de efluxo de isolados resistentes de Cryptococcus sp

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)