New insights concerning the occurrence of fungi in water sources and their potential pathogenicity

TY - JOUR

T1 - New insights concerning the occurrence of fungi in water sources and their potential pathogenicity

AU - Oliveira, B.R.

AU - Barreto Crespo, M.T.

AU - San Romão, M.V.

AU - Benoliel, M.J.

AU - Samson, R.A.

AU - Pereira, V.J.

N1 - Reporting year: 2013

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Fungi are known to occur ubiquitously in the environment. In the past years, the occurrence of filamentous fungi in the aquatic environment has been a subject of growing interest. This study describes the occurrence of various fungal genera in different drinking water sources being Penicillium and Trichoderma the most representative ones (30% and 17%, respectively). Also, 24 fungal species that have not been previously described in the aquatic environment are reported in this study, being once again the major species from the Penicillium genera. This study therefore contributes to the knowledge on the richness of fungi diversity in water. 68% of the described species were found to be able to grow at 30°C but only Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus viridinutans and Cunninghamella bertholletiae were able to grow at the higher temperature tested (42°C). 66% of the species that were able to grow at 30°C have spore sizes below 5μm which enables them to cause breathing infections. These were therefore identified as potential pathogenic species. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

AB - Fungi are known to occur ubiquitously in the environment. In the past years, the occurrence of filamentous fungi in the aquatic environment has been a subject of growing interest. This study describes the occurrence of various fungal genera in different drinking water sources being Penicillium and Trichoderma the most representative ones (30% and 17%, respectively). Also, 24 fungal species that have not been previously described in the aquatic environment are reported in this study, being once again the major species from the Penicillium genera. This study therefore contributes to the knowledge on the richness of fungi diversity in water. 68% of the described species were found to be able to grow at 30°C but only Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus viridinutans and Cunninghamella bertholletiae were able to grow at the higher temperature tested (42°C). 66% of the species that were able to grow at 30°C have spore sizes below 5μm which enables them to cause breathing infections. These were therefore identified as potential pathogenic species. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2013.08.004

DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2013.08.004

M3 - Article

SN - 0043-1354

VL - 47

SP - 6338

EP - 6347

JO - Water Research

JF - Water Research

IS - 16

ER -