Nocardia brasiliensis is a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium frequently isolated from human actinomycetoma. However, the pathogenesis of this infection remains unknown. Here, we used a model of bacterial delipidation with benzine to investigate the role of N. brasiliensis cell wall-associated lipids in experimental actinomycetoma. Delipidation of N. brasiliensis with benzine res...

In vitro antimicrobial efficacy of leaves extracts of Murraya koenigii was performed by disc diffusion method against six Gram positive bacterial (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus subfava), nine Gram negative bacterial (Alcaligenes fecalis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, P...

We analyzed the classical cytotaxonomy of the Brasiliensis subcomplex (Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, T. juazeirensis Costa & Felix, T. melanica Costa, Argolo & Felix, T. melanocephala Neiva & Pinto, T. petrochiae Pinto & Barreto, T. lenti Sherlock & Serafim, T. sherlocki Papa, Jurberg, Carcavallo, Cerqueira & Barata, T. tibiamaculata Pinto and T. vitticeps Stal) and the T. brasiliensis complex (...

Four monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced by immunizing mice with a disrupted yeast cell homogenate of Histoplasma capsulatum. MAbs 1 and 2 reacted only with the yeast cell antigens of H. capsulatum and Blastomyces dermatitidis, whereas MAbs 3 and 4 showed broader cross-reactivity. MAb 3 cross-reacted with B. dermatitidis, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, and Candida a...

ABSTRACT A series of derivatives of 2 and 3-benzofurancarboxylates were synthesized under microwave-assisted conditions. Their in-vitro antimicrobial properties were assessed. Inhibition by the compounds of the growth of antibiotic-susceptible standards and clinically isolated strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeasts, and a human fungal pathogen was moderate to significant. M...

BACKGROUND Intermediates from processing sugar beets are considered an attractive feedstock for ethanol fermentation due to their high fermentable sugar content. In particular, medium prepared from raw sugar beet juice seems to be suitable for use in fermentation processes, but it is microbiologically unstable and requires sterilization. RESULTS This study investigates the effect of ozone tre...

Mites and the mammal pathogenic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum are the major components of bat guano microbiota. Interactions between mites and H. capsulatum were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Acarid mites, mainly Sancassania sp., were the most abundant microarthropod in the sampled guano of the Mexican bat Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana and, based on its morphology, Sancassania sp. was...

The cell wall of the yeast form of the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is enriched with α1,3-glucans. In Cryptococcus neoformans, α1,3-glucans interact with glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), a heteropolysaccharide that is essential for fungal virulence. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of P. brasiliensis glycans sharing properties with cryptococcal GXM. Protein database sea...

The major diagnostic antigens of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum are the H and M antigens, pluripotent glycoproteins that elicit both humoral and T-cell-mediated immune responses. The gene encoding the M antigen has previously been sequenced, and its sequence has significant overall homology to those of the genes for fungal catalases. Regions of the M-antigen gene with little or no homol...

Triatoma brasiliensis sensu lato (s.l.), the main vector of Chagas disease in northeastern Brazil, is a species complex comprising four species, one with two subspecies (T. brasiliensis brasiliensis, T. brasiliensis macromelasoma, T. juazeirensis, T. sherlocki, and T. melanica), and each taxon displaying distinct ecological requirements. In order to evaluate the genetic relationships among nine...