Indoor wet cells as a habitat for melanized fungi, opportunistic pathogens on humans and other vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Indoor wet cells serve as an environmental reservoir for a wide diversity of melanized fungi. A total of 313 melanized fungi were isolated at five locations in Guangzhou, China. Internal transcribed spacer (rDNA ITS) sequencing showed a preponderance of 27 species belonging to 10 genera; 64.22% (n = 201) were known as human opportunists in the orders Chaetothyriales and Venturiales, potentially causing cutaneous and sometimes deep infections. Knufia epidermidis was the most frequently encountered species in bathrooms (n = 26), while in kitchens Ochroconis musae (n = 14), Phialophora oxyspora (n = 12) and P. europaea (n = 10) were prevalent. Since the majority of species isolated are common agents of cutaneous infections and are rarely encountered in the natural environment, it is hypothesi

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5955924 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature