No abstract

The association of Cryptococcus gattii with Eucalyptus trees has been well established. Here we report the isolation of both C. gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii from the flowers and bark of Eucalyptus trees in India. We investigated a total of 233 samples of Eucalyptus trees: 120 flowers, 81 fragments of bark, and 32 leaves. C. gattii was isolated from two samples of flowers of Eucalyptus terreticornis. C. neoformans var. grubii was recovered twice from the bark of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, initially from one of three samples, and again 2 months later, from one of four samples collected beneath the canopy of the tree. The primary isolation medium was Nigerseed agar, and brown colonies were presumptively identified as C. gattii or C. neoformans. The species identification was confirmed by morphological and biochemical characteristics. Using the Crypto-Check kit (Iatron, Tokyo, Japan), the first two isolates were identified as serotype B (C. gattii) and the other two were serotype A (C. neoformans var. grubii). PCR analysis of the isolates of C. neoformans var. grubii revealed that they possessed the MATalpha mating type allele. Molecular typing by amplified fragment length polymorphism markers indicated that both isolates of C. neoformans var. grubii possessed the same genotype. This study demonstrates that C. neoformans var. grubii, as well as C. gattii, may be associated with Eucalyptus trees.

The rate of wood decay is an important factor to bear in mind when choosing a restoration strategy for wooden architectural monuments. Carrying out restoration hurriedly often leads to the destruction of an authentic monument because the restoration strategy fails to take into account the natural conservation of the wood caused by the biological equilibrium between wood-decomposing organisms established during the period of a monument's life. This quilbirium results in the minimizing of dangerous fungi activity and prevents the active growth and spread of the dangerous building rot fungi. In this paper, we describe the case of natural wood conservation at the Ensemble of St. Nicholas' Church in Kovda village (Murmansk region, Northern Russia), dating from the 17th century. We suggest that one of the main reasons for equilibrium formation at this monument is its total contamination by a mold Trichoderma viride Pers. This fungus is known to be an active antagonist of many wood-destroying fungi; it could totally restrict growth of dangerous fungi Serpula lacrymans and Coniophora puteana that exist at the Kovda monument. The Kovda ensemble represents an example of the inappropriate use of the total restoration approach that has, due to the complete rebuilding of the Bell Tower, already lead to irreversible damage of the whole ensemble.