The Medical Relevance of Fusarium spp.

Abstract

The most important medical relevance of Fusarium spp. is based on their phytopathogenic property, contributing to hunger and undernutrition in the world. A few Fusarium spp., such as F. oxysporum and F. solani, are opportunistic pathogens and can induce local infections, i.e., of nails, skin, eye, and nasal sinuses, as well as occasionally, severe, systemic infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. These clinical diseases are rather difficult to cure by antimycotics, whereby the azoles, such as voriconazole, and liposomal amphotericin B give relatively the best results. There are at least two sources of infection, namely the environment and the gut mycobiome of a patient. A marked impact on human health has the ability of some Fusarium spp. to produce several mycotoxins, for example, the highly active trichothecenes. These mycotoxins may act either as pathogenicity factors, which means that they damage the host and hamper its defense, or as virulence factors, enhancing the aggressiveness of the fungi. Acute intoxications are rare, but chronic exposition by food items is a definite health risk, although in an individual case, it remains difficult to describe the role of mycotoxins for inducing disease. Mycotoxins taken up either by food or produced in the gut may possibly induce an imbalance of the intestinal microbiome. A particular aspect is the utilization of F. venetatum to produce cholesterol-free, protein-rich food items.

Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean

“…Fusarium , which comprises widespread filamentous fungi [ 46 ], was the least abundant potential pathogenic genus ( Figure 5 b) in every season; it reached the highest RA in winter, with a mean value of 1.61%, and the lowest RA in spring, with a mean value of 0.36% ( Figure S6 ). Fusarium species are primarily plant pathogens, but they can also infect a human host, inducing local and, rarely, systemic infections, especially in immunocompromised patients [ 47 ]. The genus Cryptococcus includes at least 37 different species, of which two— C. neoformans and C. gattii —are recognized as important human and animal pathogens, causing highly infectious respiratory mycosis [ 48 , 49 ].…”

Contribution of NADPH-cytochrome P450 Reductase to Azole Resistance in Fusarium oxysporum

“…However, over the last few decades, the number of dangerously invasive infections has increased in immunocompromised individuals, especially cancer patients with prolonged neutropenia and patients with hematological disorders. These infections can spread to the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and central nervous system ( Tupaki-Sreepurna and Kindo, 2018 ; Lockhart and Guarner, 2019 ; Batista et al, 2020 ; Hof, 2020 ). As emerging fungal pathogens, some Fusarium species, such as Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium solani , are now among the most common pathogenic molds associated with significant morbidity and mortality, behind only Aspergillus and Mucorales molds ( Miceli and Lee, 2011 ; Guarro, 2013 ; Tortorano et al, 2014 ; Al-Hatmi et al, 2016 ; Lockhart and Guarner, 2019 ; Hof, 2020 ).…”

“…Most species of this genus are typically resistant to a broad range of antifungal agents developed for clinical use, including azoles, polyenes, and echinocandin. They are also minimally susceptible to agricultural fungicides ( Azor et al, 2007 ; Miceli and Lee, 2011 ; Ma et al, 2013 ; Ribas et al, 2016 ; Sharma and Chowdhary, 2017 ; Batista et al, 2020 ; Hof, 2020 ). In vitro studies have indicated amphotericin B and echinocandin are relatively ineffective for controlling Fusarium species, whereas triazoles, such as voriconazole and posaconazole, are effective against almost 50% of isolates ( Azor et al, 2007 ; Miceli and Lee, 2011 ; Tortorano et al, 2014 ).…”

Malignant Keratitis Caused by a Highly-Resistant Strain of Fusarium Tonkinense from the Fusarium Solani Complex

“…A common characteristic of Fusarium spp. is their pronounced capability to produce a wide range of mycotoxins, e.g., trichothecenes, including nivalenol, deoxynivalenol (also known as vomitoxin), fumonisin and zearalenone, all of which are ingested with food, and the consequences of which are largely underestimated by the human medical field [7].…”