Rhizomucor Sp Research Articles

Preparing and Assessment of Biocidal La Nano-complex Treated Filter Capacity against Isolated Microbes from Air Conditioning Systems in COVID-19 Rehabilitation Rooms

Mucormycosis is a severe fungal infection which mainly caused by filamentous fungi of the Absidia sp., Rhizopus sp., Cunninghamella sp, Mucor sp., and Rhizomucor sp. Moreover, the pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus expands the need to interfere with spread of the airborne respiratory infections. Accordingly, developing cutting-edge solutions to restrict and/or prevent air contamination by infectious microbes are very warranted. The current work aims to prepare biocidal La-nano complex treated filters and assess their anti-fungal capacity against 20 Rhizopus oryzae, 10 Candida albicans, and 11 Aspergillus fumigatus. These fungi were isolated from the inside parts of the air conditioning systems in the rehabilitation rooms for COVID-19 patients. The obtained results demonstrated that the prepared were able to significantly decrease the invading microbes and eradicate Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Mucor, Candida albicans isolates at 0.64 mg/ml concentration. DFT study compares the electronic properties and reactivity of a ligand in its uncoordinated form with its lanthanum complex. The ligand exhibits lower binding energy, ionization potential, electron affinity, absolute electronegativity, and chemical potential when coordinated with lanthanum. In contrast, the lanthanum complex has a smaller energy gap, absolute hardness, and global softness.

Prevalence of COVID Associated Mucormycosis with Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of Isolates in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Mucormycosis is an angioinvasive opportunistic fungal infection, but these have become emerging pathogens, especially in conditions with underlying predisposing risk factors in a favourable setting. With the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases, there was an increase in the number of mucormycosis cases among them. The global prevalence rate of mucormycosis in COVID-19 globally varies from 0.005 to 1.7 per million population and in India, it is approximately 0.14 cases/1000. The objective of this study is to detect the prevalence of mucormycosis with the antifungal susceptibility pattern among COVID-19 patients admitted in our hospital. A total of 347 COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 patients with symptoms suggestive of mucormycosis were included in this study. Nasal scrapings, debrided necrotic tissue, unhealthy tissue bits and biopsy tissues taken through FESS were processed for mycological examination under sterile conditions. Among the total 347 samples processed, 87(25%) were positive for fungal culture. Among the culture positves 7.8% (25) belong to mucorales. Among the total 87 fungal isolates, the majority of organism isolated was Aspergillus sp(68%), followed by Rhizopus sp (18%). Rhizopus/Aspergillus sp (5%), Mucor species (5%), Rhizomucor sp (2%), Mucor/Aspergillus sp(1%), Curvularia sp (1%) were the other fungi isolated. All the strains of Mucorales were sensitive to Posaconazole and one strain showed resistance to amphotericin B with MIC 8 µg/ml by microbroth dilution method based on CLSI M27 guidelines for Amphotericin B, and Posaconazole.

Succession and Catabolic Properties of Fungal Community During Composting of Fruit Waste at Sub-Tropical Environment

A comprehensive profile of structural and functional dynamics of the fungal community during fruit waste composting was investigated. For this purpose, fruit waste was composted in a windrow setup in a sub-tropical environment for 146 days. Representative samples were collected at varied range of temperatures during composting and employed to physicochemical and microbiological analysis. Time-series data revealed that variation in fungal load is temperature dependent that influenced morphotypes’ shifts during different stages of composting. Shifts in abiotic factors, availability of accessible nutrients, water loss, pH and electrical conductivity (EC) participated in the transition of community and compost maturity. Fungal community shifts were studied using a culture-based method, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and Illumina sequencing. The Ascomycota were the most common phylum recovered using culture-based and DGGE methods. However, Illumina sequencing revealed a predominance of phylum Zygomycota (Mortierella sp, Rhizomucor sp), which had a low representation in the culture-based study, and phylum Basidomycota (Coprinopsis sp, Coprinellus canistri & Coprinus cordisporus), which was absent in the culture-based study. In contrast, Aspergillus fumigatus (ADIF1), which was found to be the most promising cellulase and pectinase producer at higher temperatures in culture-based studies, had a very low representation in molecular studies. The current findings imply that compost is a habitat for a diverse fungal population, it should be investigated using molecular approaches to study in-depth fungal ecology. Furthermore, the transformation of fruit waste into seed germination-friendly compost via a diverse fungal community yields an efficient organic fertilizer.

Interrelationship Among Seed Quality Parameters and Fungi Associated with Seeds of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.)

A total of twenty nine species of fungi namely Aspergillus aculeatus Lizuka, A. flavus Link, A. fumigatus Fresenius, A. niger Van Tiegh, A. nidulans Eidam, A. subramanianii Visagie, Frisvad & Samson, A. tamariiKita G., A. toxicarius Murak, A. wentii Wehmer, Curvularial unata (Wakker) Boedijn, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc., C. gossypii Southw., Chaetomium globosum Kunze., Fusarium moniliforme J. Shelden, F. nivale (Fr.) Sorauer, F. oxysporum Schlechtendal, F. fujikuroi Nirenberg, F. solani(Mart.) Sacc., Lasiodiplodiatheobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl., Meyerozyma guilliermondii (Wick.) Kurtzman & M. Suzuki., Mucor sp. P. Micheli ex L., Penicillium aculeatum Raper& Fennell, Penicillium citrinum Thom, Rhizoctonia solani Khun., Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.) Vuill., Rhizopus oryzae Went & Prins. Geerl., Rhizo mucor sp. Luce t & Costantin, Syncephalastrum racemosum Cohn and Trichoderma viride Pers. were found to be associated with the seeds of 14 varieties viz. CB-1 to CB-14 of cotton. Seed quality analysis showed that percentage of pure seeds, germination, moisture, seedling mortality and associated fungi with different varieties of cotton seeds varies from 97.08-99.92%, 80-93%, 10-11.3%, 16.05-50.30% and 24-78.0% respectively. Present study deals with estimation of interrelationship between some quality factors through correlation and regression analysis are important for the assessment of seed quality. There were negative correlations between seedling mortality and purity percentage and between germination rate and fungus frequency. On the other hand, positive correlations were found between germination rate and purity percentage, between seedling mortality and fungus frequency, between purity percentage and fungus frequency, between germination rate and seed moisture and between fungus frequency and seed moisture. CB 8 was superior from the other cotton variety as it showed higher physical purity of seed (98.41%), higher seed germination (92%), lower fungal incidence (24%) and lower mortality of seedling (23.91%). Bioresearch Commu. 8(1): 1061-1067, 2022 (January)

Biosorption potential of lead tolerant fungi isolated from refuse dumpsite soil in Nigeria

Metals are non-biodegradable and recurrent in the environs. Heavy metals tolerant fungi were isolated from refuse dumpsite soil using pour plate method. These fungi were identified as Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum and Rhizomucor sp. The fungal isolates were screened for cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) with concentration of 200ppm, 400ppm and 600ppm. Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum showed high tolerance for the metals in contrast to the control. The fungi with high tolerance were used for biosorption study. However, Penicillium chrysogenum showed higher lead removal or biosorption potential of 1.07ppm, 3.35ppm and 4.19ppm as compared with Aspergillus niger with lead removal of 0.67ppm, 3.11ppm and 3.79ppm at 5th, 10th and 15th day respectively. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to interpret the data generated from the biosorption study which revealed that there was no significant different (p > 0.05) between the lead removal of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum on the 5th day but there was significant difference (p < 0.05) in the lead removal of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum on the 10th and 15th day. This study suggests the use of these fungal isolates for removal and biotreatment of heavy metal contaminated and polluted environment

Pathogenic potentiality of fungi associated with the seeds of different cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties in Bangladesh

A total of 24 species of fungi, namely Aspergillus flavus Link, A. fumigatus Fresenius, A. niger (Type 1 and Type 2) Van Tiegh, A. ochraceus K. Wilhelm, A. nidulans Eidam, Aspergillus sp.1, Aspergillus sp.2, Aspergillus sp.3, Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boedijn, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz & Sacc, C. gossypii Southw., Chaetomium globosum Kunze., Fusarium nivale (Fr.) Sorauer, F. moniliforme J. Shelden, F. oxysporum Schlechtendal, F. fujikuroi Nirenberg, Mucor sp. P. Micheli ex L., Penicillium sp.1 and sp.2 Link, Rhizoctonia solani Khun., Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.) Vuill., Rhizomucor sp. Lucet & Costantin, Syncephalastrum racemosum Cohn and Trichoderma viride Pers. were found to be associated with the seeds of 14 varieties (CB 1- CB 14) of cotton. Out of these 24 fungal species, nine were found to be pathogenic to cotton. They were Aspergillus flavus, A. niger (Type 1), Aspergillus sp. 1, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium nivale, F. moniliforme, Mucor sp. and Rhizoctonia solani. These pathogenic fungi had remarkable effect on seed germination, vigor index, root-shoot length and mortality of cotton seedlings. The germination percentage of control seeds was 88 but because of the presence of pathogenic fungi the rate showed considerable reduction in all the varieties and it varied from 20 to 82%. Among the nine fungal isolates Rhizoctonia solani showed maximum reduction in seed germination. Aspergillus flavus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium moniliforme also caused near about 50% reduction in seed germination. Mortality percentage of control seedling were also less (6) whereas, in inoculated seeds it was higher and varied from 7 - 23%. Root- shoot ratio of control seedlings was high but less in inoculated seedlings. The vigor index of control plant was high (1548.8) but less in inoculated plants. The lowest vigor index was noticed for Rhizoctonia solani (202.0) and highest for Aspergillus sp. 1(1213.6). Results indicated that Curvularia lunata and Rhizoctonia solani showed a greater impact in reduction of cotton seed germination and vigor index.
 Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 29(1): 107-115, 2020 (January)

Evaluación in vitro de la capacidad biorremediadora de hongos filamentosos sobre petróleo crudo

Objetivo. Evaluar la capacidad biorremediadora de algunas especies de hongos filamentosos en suelos contaminados con petróleo crudo. Métodos. Se aislaron 138 cepas a partir de 90 cultivos primarios en muestras de suelos obtenidas en los municipios de Yondó (Antioquia), Acacías (Meta) y Tumaco (Nariño), se identificaron las especies por medio de claves taxonómicas y la amplificación por PCR de la región ITS ubicándose en siete géneros de hongos filamentosos. Del total de las especies se escogieron tres para el experimento que fueron: Neosartorya sp. Cepa A/N-1, Aspergillus sp. Cepa Y/As-3 y Rhizomucor sp. Cepa 1A/R-1; se realizó la micorremediación con la técnica de Landfarming modificado al diseñarse un microcosmos con 50g de suelo contaminado con petróleo crudo °API de 21.6 a concentraciones de 20.000 ppm y 30.000ppm para cada una de las especies en un inóculo de 300 conidios/ml en agua destilada, ajustado en cámara de Neubauer y las tres especies en consorcio en suelo contaminado con petróleo crudo°API de 21.6 a concentraciones de 40.000ppm, 60.000ppm, 80.000ppm y 100.000ppm con un inóculo de 300 conidios/ml. Se valoró el proceso por espectofotometría. Además se estableció las enzimas empleadas en la micorremediación y la citotoxicidad de las cepas empleadas. Resultado. La micorremediación realizada por las especies individuales fue en promedio entre 2 y 6 días y cuando se aplicaron las tres especies en consorcio se realizó en un promedio entre 6 y 10 días, la enzima empleada es peroxidasa y la citotoxicidad es negativa.

Isolamento e seleção de fungos produtores de lipases com base na atividade lipásica e no potencial hidrolítico sobre óleo comestível de soja e escuma de caixa de gordura

RESUMO: O uso de biomassa fúngica como biocatalisadora lipásica representa uma atraente abordagem para o tratamento de águas residuais oleosas e produção de biodiesel, a partir de óleos e graxas residuais, devido à sua maior estabilidade, possibilidade de reuso e baixo custo. Neste trabalho foram obtidos cem isolados de fungos, a partir de escumas de caixa de gordura e esgoto, solo e tecidos necrosados de plantas e insetos, que foram avaliados quanto ao crescimento e à atividade lipásica, no meio de cultura básico, para atividade lipásica extracelular, e meio mineral mínimo + óleo de soja + rodamina, para atividade lipásica intracelular, com resposta positiva e diferenciada de 66 deles, inclusos como pertencentes aos gêneros Aspergillus , Beauveria , Botrytis , Cladosporium , Colletotrichum , Fusarium , Geotrichum , Penicillium , Rhizomucor e Verticillium . Na sequência, o potencial hidrolítico dos isolados Penicillium sp. F002 e Rhizomucor sp. F018 foi avaliado sobre óleo de soja comestível e escuma de caixa de gordura, em fermentação em estado sólido, através da quantificação das variáveis: produção de CO2, remoção do teor de óleos e graxas e crescimento da biomassa. Os resultados confirmaram a elevada atividade lipásica extracelular de Penicillium sp. F002 e a elevada atividade lipásica intracelular de Rhizomucor sp. F018. Portanto, o isolado Rhizomucor sp. F018 mostrou potencial para utilização em pesquisas futuras, na forma de células integrais lipásicas, para o tratamento de águas residuais oleosas e como biocatalisador na produção de biodiesel a partir de resíduos oleosos.

English

The use of fungal biomass as a lipase biocatalyst represents an attractive approach for the treatments of oil wastewater as well as for the production of biodiesel from oil and residual grease, due to its greater stability, possibility of reuse, and lower cost. In this work, 20 filamentous fungi were isolated from the grease trap scum of a restaurant at the Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The fungi included those belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Beauveria, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Penicillium, Rhizomucor, and Verticillium. Fungal lipase activity and biomass production were quantified. Lipase activity ranged from 0.13 U mg-1 protein of Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18 to 18.06 U mg-1 protein of Penicillium sp. ECGF02, and the biomass production ranged from 7.61 mg mL-1 for Cladosporium sp. ECGF19 to 12.68 mg mL-1 for Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18. In the sequence, Penicillium sp. ECGF02 and Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18, were previously select and, further evaluated in solid-state fermentation. Results confirmed the high extracellular lipase-activity of Penicillium sp. ECG02 and the high intracellular lipase activity of Rhizomucor sp. ECG18. Rhizomucor sp. ECG18 showed potential for use in future research, in the form of whole-cell lipases, wastewater treatment, and as a biocatalyst in the production of biodiesel from oil residues.   Key words: Lipase-producing fungi, wastewater treatment, bioenergy.

In vitro activity of miltefosine as a single agent and in combination with voriconazole or posaconazole against uncommon filamentous fungal pathogens

Antifungal treatment of uncommon filamentous fungal infections is problematic. This study determined the in vitro susceptibility of miltefosine, as a single agent and in combination with posaconazole or voriconazole, against these pathogens. Susceptibility to miltefosine of 34 uncommon filamentous fungi was tested using CLSI broth microdilution M38-A2 methodology. Twenty isolates were studied for potential synergy using miltefosine/posaconazole and miltefosine/voriconazole combinations and the chequerboard microdilution assay. MICs of miltefosine were high (in general, >8 mg/L) for most isolates compared with amphotericin B, echinocandins and the azoles. Miltefosine had greatest activity against Scedosporium spp., Lichtheimia corymbifera and Rhizomucor sp. (MICs ≤ 4 mg/L). Miltefosine in combination either with posaconazole or voriconazole demonstrated synergy [fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) ≤ 0.5] in 12 instances (11 isolates): miltefosine/posaconazole combinations were synergistic against 3 of 4 Fusarium oxysporum strains (FICI range 0.37-0.5) and 5 of 10 mucormycete strains (FICI range 0.06-0.5). The combination of voriconazole with miltefosine showed synergy against one Scedosporium prolificans isolate and three mucormycetes-a single strain each of L. corymbifera, Rhizopus oryzae and Rhizomucor sp. No antagonism was observed. Miltefosine demonstrated synergy in 8/20 (40%) and 4/20 (20%) instances when combined with posaconazole and voriconazole, respectively. Synergy was most often observed against F. oxysporum and the mucormycetes. Study of miltefosine/azole combinations as a novel antifungal approach is indicated.

In Depth Study of a New Highly Efficient Raw Starch Hydrolyzing α-Amylase from Rhizomucor sp

A new α-amylase from Rhizomucor sp. (RA) was studied in detail due to its very efficient hydrolysis of raw starch granules at low temperature (32 °C). RA contains a starch binding domain (SBD) connected to the core amylase catalytic domain by a O-glycosylated linker. The mode of degradation of native maize starch granules and, in particular, the changes in the starch structure during the hydrolysis, was monitored for hydrolysis of raw starch at concentrations varying between 0.1 and 31%. RA was compared to porcine pancreatic α-amylase (PPA), which has been widely studied either on resistant starch or as a model enzyme in solid starch hydrolysis studies. RA is particularly efficient on native maize starch and release glucose only. The hydrolysis rate reaches 75% for a 31% starch solution and is complete at 0.1% starch concentration. The final hydrolysis rate was dependent on both starch concentration and enzyme amount applied. RA is also very efficient in hydrolyzing the crystalline domains in the maize starch granule. The major A-type crystalline structure is more rapidly degraded than amorphous domains in the first stages of hydrolysis. This is in agreement with the observed preferential hydrolysis of amylopectin, the starch constituent that forms the backbone of the crystalline part of the granule. Amylose-lipid complexes present in most cereal starches are degraded in a second stage, yielding amylose fragments that then reassociate into B-type crystalline structures, forming the final resistant fraction.

Study of pectinase produced by termophilic fungi Rhizomucor sp. N31 in FES

Study of pectinase produced by termophilic fungi Rhizomucor sp. N31 in FES

Characterization of a thermostable extracellular β-galactosidase from a thermophilic fungus Rhizomucor sp.

An extracellular β-galactosidase from a thermophilic fungus Rhizomucor sp. has been purified to homogeneity by successive DEAE cellulose chromatography followed by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The native molecular mass of the enzyme is 250 000 and it is composed of two identical subunits with molecular mass of 120 000. It is an acidic protein with a p I of 4.2. Purified β-galactosidase is a glycoprotein and contains 8% neutral sugar. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity are 4.5 and 60°C, respectively. The enzyme is stable at 60°C for 4 h, and has a t 1/2 of 150 min at 70°C which is one of the highest reported for fungal β-galactosidases. Substrate specificity studies indicated that the enzyme is specific for β-linked galactose residues with a preference for p-nitrophenyl-β- D-galactopyranoside ( pNPG). The K m and V max values for the synthetic substrates pNPG and o-nitrophenyl-β- D-galactopyranoside ( oNPG) were 0.66 mM and 1.32 mM; and 22.4 mmol min −1 mg −1 and 4.45 mmol min −1 mg −1, respectively, while that for the natural substrate, lactose, was 50.0 mM and 12 mmol min −1 mg −1. The end product galactose and the substrate analogue isopropyl thiogalactopyranoside (ITPG) inhibited the enzyme with K i of 2.6 mM and 12.0 mM, respectively. The energy of activation for the enzyme using pNPG and oNPG were 27.04 kCal and 9.04 kCal, respectively. The active site characterization studies using group-specific reagents revealed that a tryptophan and lysine residue play an important role in the catalytic activity of the enzyme.

Production of ? -galactosidase from thermophilic fungus Rhizomucor sp

A thermostable β-galactosidase was produced extracellularly by a thermophilic Rhizomucor sp, with maximum enzyme activity (0.21 U mg−1) after 4 days under submerged fermentation condition (SmF). Solid state fermentation (SSF) resulted in a nine-fold increase in enzyme activity (2.04 U mg−1). The temperature range for production of the enzyme was 38–55°C with maximum activity at 45°C. The optimum pH and temperature for the partially purified enzyme was 4.5 and 60°C, respectively. The enzyme retained its original activity on incubation at 60°C up to 1 h. Divalent cations like Co2+, Mn2+, Fe2+ and Zn2+ had strong inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity. The K m and V max for p-nitrophenyl-β- D-galactopyranoside and o-nitrophenyl-β - D-galactopyranoside were 0.39 mM, 0.785 mM and 232.1 mmol min−1 mg−1 respectively. The K m and V max for the natural substrate lactose were 66.66 μM and 0.20 μ mol min−1 mg−1.