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Comparative pathogenicity of opportunistic black yeasts in Aureobasidium

Meizhu Wang1,2,3, Patrizia Danesi4, Timothy Y James5

  • 1Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education of Guizhou & Guizhou Talent Base for Microbiology and Human Health, Key Laboratory of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology of Education Department of Guizhou, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.

Mycoses
|May 21, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Melanin production and heat tolerance in black yeasts like Aureobasidium melanogenum contribute to opportunistic infections. A. melanogenum showed higher virulence in mice, suggesting these traits are key to pathogenicity.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Mycology
  • Microbial Pathogenesis

Background:

  • Aureobasidium pullulans and A. melanogenum are black yeasts found in hospitals.
  • These yeasts produce melanin for protection against environmental stress.
  • Aureobasidium melanogenum is more frequently implicated in opportunistic infections than A. pullulans.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the pathogenicity of Aureobasidium pullulans and A. melanogenum.
  • To investigate the role of melanization and thermotolerance in the virulence of these opportunistic black yeasts.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed melanization and thermotolerance of different Aureobasidium strains.
  • Examined virulence using Galleria mellonella and murine infection models.
  • Compared pathogenicity based on species and environmental stress responses.

Main Results:

  • Aureobasidium melanogenum exhibited increased melanization and better survival at 37°C compared to A. pullulans.
  • In the murine model, the melanized A. melanogenum group showed the highest virulence.
  • Galleria mellonella model at 25°C did not reproduce observed virulence differences.

Conclusions:

  • Melanization and thermotolerance, rather than species alone, are crucial for the pathogenicity of Aureobasidium species.
  • A. melanogenum's traits contribute to its higher frequency in opportunistic infections.
  • The Galleria mellonella model's limitations at higher temperatures restrict its utility for studying subtle virulence differences.
Keywords:
Aureobasidium melanogenumAureobasidium pullulansGalleria melonellamelaninmurine modelthermotolerancevirulence

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