A snapshot of extracellular DNA influence on Aspergillus biofilm

ASPERGILLOSIS IN CLINICAL CONTEXT Aspergillosis is a fungal infection that can assume a broad spectrum of clinical forms depending on immune status and the presence of underlying lung diseases, ranging from allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis to aspergilloma and also to the invasive aspergillosis forms that are a major cause of mortality in severely immunocompromised patients. Pulmonary aspergillosis follows the inhalation of airborne conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus, and pre-existing conditions such as pulmonary functional abnormalities such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease provides a favorable environment for Aspergillus colonization and biofilm formation in the lungs (Zmeili and Soubani, 2007; Ramage et al., 2011). Due to its great importance in clinical context, a better understanding of the process in filamentous growth and biofilm formation can help to manage Aspergillus infection, especially when dealing with resistant strains to current antifungal drugs (Arendrup, 2013).