Results The data analyzed so far revealed the presence of different pollen and fungal species at both sites. The ratio between the pollen and fungal spores was 1:5. The airborne pollen grains showed quantitative and qualitative differences between the two sites. At FD site, the major pollen grains included Phoenix dactylifera (31%), grass pollen (14%), Atriplex nummularia (12%), Amaranthus viri...

Nosocomial fungal infections are gaining increased attention from infectiologists. An adequate investigation into the levels of airborne Aspergillus and other fungal spores in hospital settings, under normal conditions, is largely unknown. We monitored airborne spore contamination in a Swiss hospital building in order to establish a seasonally-dependent base-line level. Air was sampled using an...

Fungi have long been known to affect human well being in various ways, including disease of essential crop plants, decay of stored foods with possible concomitant production of mycotoxins, superficial and systemic infection of human tissues, and disease associated with immune stimulation such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and toxic pneumonitis. The spores of a large number of important fungi ...

Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) fractions isolated from germinated and ungerminated spores of Botryodiplodia theobromae and Rhizopus stolonifer had acceptor activity for all 20 amino acids commonly found in protein, when tested with an enzyme fraction from germinated spores. Accordingly, it is unlikely that the absence of tRNA for a particular amino acid limits protein synthesis in fungal spores.

Dispersal is a fundamental biological process, operating at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Despite an increasing understanding of fungal biodiversity, most research on fungal dispersal focuses on only a small fraction of species. Thus, any discussion of the dispersal dynamics of fungi as a whole is problematic. While abundant morphological and biogeographic data are available for hundred...

In October 2012, the CDC reported an outbreak of fungal meningitis associated with methylprednisolone injections [1]. Although the index case had Aspergillus fumigatus meningitis [2], subsequent reports indicated that the majority of affected patients had meningitis caused by Exserohilum rostratum, an extremely rare cause of human fungal disease [1,3,4]. The outbreak is presumably the result of...

Pathogens and other symbiotic fungi that infect above-ground plant parts commonly disperse as airborne spores. Here we present diel patterns of the density of airborne fungal spores in the canopy and understory of a tropical rain forest. Spores were 52-fold more abundant in the understory than in the canopy. Additionally, spores were 5to 35-fold more abundant at night than during the day, assoc...

The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of DNA extraction from water as well as from blood samples spiked with A. fumigatus spores, using selected commercial kits. Extraction of DNA according to manufacturer's protocols was preceded by blood cells lysis and disruption of fungal cells by enzymatic digestion or bead beating. The efficiency of DNA extraction was measured by PCR using A...