Occurrence of filamentous fungi in drinking water: their role on fungal-bacterial biofilm formation

Abstract

Water is indispensable to life and safe and accessible supply must be available to all. The presence of microorganisms is a threat to this commitment. Biofilms are the main reservoir of microorganisms inside water distribution systems and they are extremely ecologically diverse. Filamentous fungi and bacteria can coexist inside these systems forming inter-kingdom biofilms. This review has the goal of summarizing the most relevant and recent reports on the occurrence of filamentous fungi in water distribution systems along with the current knowledge and gaps about filamentous fungal biofilm formation. Special focus is given on fungal-bacterial interactions in water biofilms.

Interactions between Penicillium brevicompactum/Penicillium expansum and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus isolated from drinking water in biofilm development and control

“…While the single species formalism is attractive to generate easy-to-interpret data, it is far from adequate to understand the role of species interactions in community behaviour. The role of ff in multispecies biofilms remains unclear, even if it is now recognized that these microorganisms can form biofilms under diverse process conditions (Afonso et al, 2021;Fernandes et al, 2019;Simões et al, 2015). In addition, there is a significant lack of scientific data on the role of ff in DW microbiological quality and safety (Fish et al, 2016;Hull et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2016;Pinto et al, 2014).…”

“…Ff in DWDS are a source of diverse public health problems, particularly allergies, opportunistic infections and intoxications (Hageskal et al, 2009;Slavin et al, 2015). Their presence in DW is increasingly being recognized as an emerging public health issue (Afonso et al, 2021;Babič et al, 2017;Fisher et al, 2018). DW-related and unrelated outbreaks of fungal infections (i.e.…”

“…DW-related and unrelated outbreaks of fungal infections (i.e. pneumonia and pulmonary mycoses, sinusitis, endocarditis, onychomycosis, cutaneous and subcutaneous infections, wound infections) are becoming more frequent with mortality rates often higher than 50 % (Afonso et al, 2021;Douglas et al, 2016). Global warming and the decrease in water quality, due to water scarcity, are expected to intensify ff proliferation.…”

Growth Parameters of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. Fr.) Kumm Cultivation Using Paddy Straw as a Substrate

“…Reproduction of moulds occur sexually and asexually using spores. As per the classification, the fungi kingdom is composed of seven phyla namely, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota, Microsporidia and Neocallimastigomycota (Afonso et al, 2021). Among these, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are considered as main phyla within the subkingdom Dikarya.…”

Strategies for Improvement in Cultivation Practices of Oyster Mushrooms in North Bengal, India

“…Fungi are the eukaryotic achlorophyllus organisms having absorptive mode of nutrition. According to classification, the fungi kingdom is comprised of seven phyla namely, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota, Microsporidia and Neocallimastigomycota [3]. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are considered as major phyla within the sub-kingdom Dikarya.…”