This blog is devoted to BIOL 6988, a graduate level seminar in the biological sciences at Youngstown State University. While targeted towards graduate students, BIOL 6988 actively incorporates undergraduate participants in their scholastic endeavors in the biological sciences. This blog is intended as a educational tool not just for YSU students and faculty, but for anyone who wishes to contribute to an active-learning environment.
Sarah did great job presenting and was easy to understand. However, she was no Josh Engle.
P. marneffei is a thermally dimorphoc fungi that can be pathogenic to immunocompromised, speciffically HIV patients. Previous work by Dr. Kommasook and Dr. Suwunnakorn demonstrated that a mutation of yakA produced fewer can conidia than the wild type strain. Furthermore, disrupted yakA gene promoted early germination and perturbation of cell wall integrity. Based on these previous results, Sarah was looking at mutant yakA's effect on glucan (precursor of cell synthasis) synthesis in comparison to the wilt type. Based on here research, she demonstrate that glucan synthesis is effected by yakA mutation as demonstrated by qPCR.
Are there any other dimorphic fungi in the world? is so what are they and give a brief description.
Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that grows both as yeast and filamentous cells and is a cause of opportunistic oral and genital infections in humans as well as candidal onychomycosis, an infection of the nail plate. Systemic fungal infections such as those by C. albicans are causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients.
Sarah did a fantastic job with her presentation and presented on a topic that I find uniquely interesting.
Another dimorphic fungus is Aureobasidium pullulans which is a spoilage organsim that is often found in indoor environments. It has been associated with occupational disease in wood processing. It can be used to test for resistance to microbial degradation.
Histoplasma capsulatum can infect the respiratory tract of humans and may also lead to pericarditis and aortic fibrosis. It is an intracellular pathogen that grows as a budding yeast at 37º C and as a mold when in soil below 30º C.
Sarah you did a great job presenting your research!
Sporothrix schenckii is a dimorphic fungus found in soil and decomposing plant material such as peat moss. It can infect humans and animals by the introduction of spores into the body through a cut or puncture wound in the skin, causing sporotrichosis. This disease produces small skin lesions and can be effectively treated by antifungal drugs.
Ustilago maydis is a dimorphic fungus that causes the well known plant disease, corn smut. This disease presents with galls, and swollen, brown-blue kernels in maize and teosinte plants. Unlike P. marneffei, its phenotype is not dependent on temperature. U. maydis is initially a single celled sporidium but fuses with another single-cell and form hypa to infect corn.
I think Sarah did a very horrible horrible job......i was sleeping the entire time.
An example of dimorphic fungi is Blastomyces dermatitidis. The fungi grows on Sabouraud's dextrose agar at 25C as a mold; and on blood agar at 37C, colonies are wrinkled and folded, glabrous and yeast-like. The fungi is the causative agent of pulmonary blastomycosis, cutaneous blastomycosis, and osteoarticular blastomycosis. Thus, when working with this kind of fungi in the lab, one has to be extremely cautious due to the health risk associated with poor handling.
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis’s fungus morph transforms at 37 degrees C into a yeast morph that causes infections. The yeast form of P. brasiliensis can cause a disease known as paracoccidioidomycosis. This is characterized by slow, progressive granulomatous changes that affect the lymphatic system, the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, and/or the skeletal system.
Coccidioides immitis is another type of dimorphic fungus. It is a pathogenic fungus that is commonly found within the soil of southwestern United States, northern Mexico and other areas of the Western Hemisphere. C. immitis causes a disease called coccifioifomycosis that affects the lungs. This disease is difficult to diagnosis from other lung disease because it mimics symptoms of other respiratory diseases. Blood and urine test or biopsies are the only ways have a positive diagnosis.
Nice job Sarah, I like how you connected Josh's presentation and previous data to paint a more broad picture of how a knockout gene can up/down regulate other genes as well as form a higher or lower resistance during stress responses.
I think all of the dimorphic fungi are named so I'll discuss a different fungi that affects humans. Cladosporium carrionii is a fungus that causes chromoblastomycosis in humans. It is a small (usually about 10um in size) breaching chain of single-celled conidia and is usually contracted by a lesion in woody area. A splinter could cause infection. The infection is slow and can be difficult to cure, usually an azole or even Amphotericin B is used to treat the mycosis.
Pneumocystis jirovecii is a dimorphic fungus found worldwide. It can be pathogenic, and to continue the theme, is seen most prevalently when its host is immunocompromised. P. jirovecii causes pneumocystis pneumonia through an opportunistic infection of the lungs, often after chemotherapy or acquiring HIV/AIDS.
Emmonsia parva is a dimorphic fungus which causes respiratory infections and grows as hyphae at room temperature and becomes adiaspores at 40C. Usually the spores are inhaled and become adiaspores in the alveoli of the lungs. While Emmonsia parva doesn’t necessarily cause an “infection”, problems arise due to inflammatory processes that are activated as a result of foreign material recognition within the host.
Sarah did great job presenting and was easy to understand. However, she was no Josh Engle.
ReplyDeleteP. marneffei is a thermally dimorphoc fungi that can be pathogenic to immunocompromised, speciffically HIV patients. Previous work by Dr. Kommasook and Dr. Suwunnakorn demonstrated that a mutation of yakA produced fewer can conidia than the wild type strain. Furthermore, disrupted yakA gene promoted early germination and perturbation of cell wall integrity. Based on these previous results, Sarah was looking at mutant yakA's effect on glucan (precursor of cell synthasis) synthesis in comparison to the wilt type. Based on here research, she demonstrate that glucan synthesis is effected by yakA mutation as demonstrated by qPCR.
Are there any other dimorphic fungi in the world? is so what are they and give a brief description.
Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that grows both as yeast and filamentous cells and is a cause of opportunistic oral and genital infections in humans as well as candidal onychomycosis, an infection of the nail plate. Systemic fungal infections such as those by C. albicans are causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients.
ReplyDeleteSarah did a fantastic job with her presentation and presented on a topic that I find uniquely interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother dimorphic fungus is Aureobasidium pullulans which is a spoilage organsim that is often found in indoor environments. It has been associated with occupational disease in wood processing. It can be used to test for resistance to microbial degradation.
Histoplasma capsulatum can infect the respiratory tract of humans and may also lead to pericarditis and aortic fibrosis. It is an intracellular pathogen that grows as a budding yeast at 37º C and as a mold when in soil below 30º C.
ReplyDeleteSarah you did a great job presenting your research!
ReplyDeleteSporothrix schenckii is a dimorphic fungus found in soil and decomposing plant material such as peat moss. It can infect humans and animals by the introduction of spores into the body through a cut or puncture wound in the skin, causing sporotrichosis. This disease produces small skin lesions and can be effectively treated by antifungal drugs.
Ustilago maydis is a dimorphic fungus that causes the well known plant disease, corn smut. This disease presents with galls, and swollen, brown-blue kernels in maize and teosinte plants. Unlike P. marneffei, its phenotype is not dependent on temperature. U. maydis is initially a single celled sporidium but fuses with another single-cell and form hypa to infect corn.
ReplyDeleteI think Sarah did a very horrible horrible job......i was sleeping the entire time.
ReplyDeleteAn example of dimorphic fungi is Blastomyces dermatitidis. The fungi grows on Sabouraud's dextrose agar at 25C as a mold; and on blood agar at 37C, colonies are wrinkled and folded, glabrous and yeast-like. The fungi is the causative agent of pulmonary blastomycosis, cutaneous blastomycosis, and osteoarticular blastomycosis. Thus, when working with this kind of fungi in the lab, one has to be extremely cautious due to the health risk associated with poor handling.
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis’s fungus morph transforms at 37 degrees C into a yeast morph that causes infections. The yeast form of P. brasiliensis can cause a disease known as paracoccidioidomycosis. This is characterized by slow, progressive granulomatous changes that affect the lymphatic system, the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, and/or the skeletal system.
ReplyDeleteCoccidioides immitis is another type of dimorphic fungus. It is a pathogenic fungus that is commonly found within the soil of southwestern United States, northern Mexico and other areas of the Western Hemisphere. C. immitis causes a disease called coccifioifomycosis that affects the lungs. This disease is difficult to diagnosis from other lung disease because it mimics symptoms of other respiratory diseases. Blood and urine test or biopsies are the only ways have a positive diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteNice job Sarah, I like how you connected Josh's presentation and previous data to paint a more broad picture of how a knockout gene can up/down regulate other genes as well as form a higher or lower resistance during stress responses.
ReplyDeleteI think all of the dimorphic fungi are named so I'll discuss a different fungi that affects humans. Cladosporium carrionii is a fungus that causes chromoblastomycosis in humans. It is a small (usually about 10um in size) breaching chain of single-celled conidia and is usually contracted by a lesion in woody area. A splinter could cause infection. The infection is slow and can be difficult to cure, usually an azole or even Amphotericin B is used to treat the mycosis.
Pneumocystis jirovecii is a dimorphic fungus found worldwide. It can be pathogenic, and to continue the theme, is seen most prevalently when its host is immunocompromised. P. jirovecii causes pneumocystis pneumonia through an opportunistic infection of the lungs, often after chemotherapy or acquiring HIV/AIDS.
ReplyDeleteEmmonsia parva is a dimorphic fungus which causes respiratory infections and grows as hyphae at room temperature and becomes adiaspores at 40C. Usually the spores are inhaled and become adiaspores in the alveoli of the lungs. While Emmonsia parva doesn’t necessarily cause an “infection”, problems arise due to inflammatory processes that are activated as a result of foreign material recognition within the host.
ReplyDelete