Project description:Rhizopus delemar is an invasive fungal pathogen, responsible for the frequently fatal disease mucormycosis. Germination, a crucial mechanism by which spores of Rhizopus delemar infect and cause disease, is a key developmental process that transforms the dormant spore state into a vegetative one. Understanding the molecular mechanisms which underpin this transformation may be key to controlling mucormycosis; however, the regulation of germination remains poorly understood. This study describes the transcriptional changes which take place over the course of germination.
Project description:Mucormycosis is a fungal infection primarily afflicting immunocompromised or diabetic patients. Its presentation ranges from rhino-orbito-cerebral infections to disseminated mucormycosis with angioinvasion. We present a patient who developed a bowel obstruction one month after bone marrow transplant and was diagnosed with Rhizopus arrhizus diverticulitis despite antifungal therapy since transplantation. She underwent surgical removal with immediate fungal resurgence, declined further invasive intervention and was discharged on palliative isavuconazole. Seven months later she is alive with fungal containment.
