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Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Isolation of Culturable Yeasts and Molds from Soils to Investigate Fungal Population Structure
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Exploring Factors Driving the Uneven Distribution of Aspergillus terreus in an Austrian Hotspot Region

Jan Schobert1, Paul Illmer2, Roya Vahedi-Shahandashti1

  • 1ISHAM Working Group of A. terreus, ECMM Excellence Center of Mycology, Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.

Microorganisms
|June 27, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Aspergillus terreus, a fungal pathogen causing aspergillosis, is more prevalent in eastern Tyrolean soils, linked to lower pH and soil density. Most isolates showed resistance to posaconazole and isavuconazole.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental microbiology
  • Medical mycology

Background:

  • Aspergillus terreus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for aspergillosis, a disease with high mortality rates.
  • Clinical challenges include dissemination and resistance to antifungal drugs like amphotericin B.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distribution of A. terreus in Tyrolean soils.
  • To identify environmental factors associated with its prevalence.
  • To determine antifungal susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates.

Main Methods:

  • Soil sampling and analysis using plating, soil immersion tube method, and qPCR.
  • Assessment of soil parameters (pH, moisture, organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, density).
  • Antifungal susceptibility testing following EUCAST guidelines for amphotericin B, posaconazole, isavuconazole, and voriconazole.

Main Results:

  • A. terreus showed significantly higher prevalence in eastern Tyrol compared to western Tyrol.
  • Fungal presence correlated with lower soil pH, reduced total carbon and nitrogen, and lower soil density.
  • A lower environmental frequency was observed outside Tyrol.
  • High resistance rates were found for posaconazole (100%) and isavuconazole (87.2%), while most isolates were wild type for amphotericin B (98.3%) and voriconazole (100%).

Conclusions:

  • Soil characteristics, particularly lower pH and reduced soil density, influence A. terreus distribution in Tyrol.
  • The high prevalence of resistance to azole antifungals like posaconazole and isavuconazole is a significant clinical concern.
Keywords:
Aspergillus terreusamphotericin B resistanceantifungal resistanceantifungal susceptibility testingaspergillosisenvironmental distributionsoil

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