Aeroallergens produced by Alternaria alternata can elicit life-threatening exacerbations of asthma in patients sensitized to this fungus. In this study, the effect of Alternaria on ion transport mechanisms underlying mucociliary clearance and airway epithelial barrier function was investigated in human airway epithelial cells. Apical exposure to Alternaria induced an increase in anion secretion...

Fungal spores are known to trigger allergic respiratory diseases. Very little is known about airborne fungal spore presence in Trieste. This paper reports the seasonal (June-October) Alternaria (1993-2004) and Epicoccum (1994-2004) spore concentrations during these years, using a Hirst sampler. Daily spore counts fluctuate considerably from one day to the next. Airborne spores of Alternaria and...

In 2011, a leaf blight disease was observed on cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) leaves in Nonsan, Korea. The causal pathogen was isolated and identified based on morphological and molecular approaches. Morphological characteristics of the pathogen matched well with the Alternaria cosmosa and also easily distinguishable from Alternaria zinniae reported from cosmos seeds by producing branched beak. Phy...

Plant-microbial interactive relations with respect to determine mycoflora of the Sorbus domestica L.--fruits, crust, leaves and pollen were studied in 2 Slovak regions. On the fruit samples the genera Alternaria, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Mucor and Penicillium occurred, on the leaves the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium and Penicillium prevailed and on crust the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, Pe...

Cutaneous Alternaria spp. infections occur mainly in immunosuppressed patients and itraconazole is considered as the drug of choice. We report the case of a 64-year-old heart transplanted female patient with multiple cutaneous lesions caused by Alternaria infectoria. Treatment with posaconazole resulted in complete recovery. Due to lower minimal inhibitory concentrations, better distribution an...

Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler strain PPRI 21032 was isolated from onion leaves collected in Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa. The whole genome of this strain was sequenced and produced a total of 33.12 Mb with a GC content of 50.9%. The whole genome comprises 11,701 predicted coding sequences.

Complexes of the type Na(6)[M(HL)(2)(H(2)O)(2)], where M= Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) and Na(3)H(2)L= 2-(4-sulphophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxy 3,6 naphthalene disulphonic acid trisodium salt, have been synthesized and characterized by physico-chemical (elemental analyses, solubility, electrolytic conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurement) and spectral (UV-Visible, IR, ES...

Eosinophils and their products are probably important in the pathophysiology of allergic diseases, such as bronchial asthma, and in host immunity to certain organisms. An association between environmental fungal exposure and asthma has been long recognized clinically. Although products of microorganisms (e.g., lipopolysaccharides) directly activate certain inflammatory cells (e.g., macrophages)...

Alternaria brown spot is one of the most important diseases of tangerines and their hybrids worldwide. Recently, outbreaks in Mediterranean areas related to susceptible cultivars, refocused attention on the disease. Twenty representatives were selected from a collection of 180 isolates of Alternaria spp. from citrus leaves and fruit. They were characterized along with reference strains of Alter...