Leaf blight symptoms consisting of dark brown lesions were observed on watermelon plants in seven districts or counties in Beijing municipality of China. A total of 64 Alternaria isolates were recovered and identified based on morphological characters and sequence analyses of rDNAITS regions and histone 3 genes. Amongst these isolates, Alternaria tenuissima was the most prevalent species repres...

The genus Alternaria contains several species of melanized hyphomycetes that cause opportunistic human infections. The published literature contains 210 reported cases of human alternarioses between 1933 and the present day. The most frequent clinical manifestations are cutaneous and subcutaneous infections (74.3%), followed by oculomycosis (9.5%), invasive and non-invasive rhinosinusitis (8.1%...

The striatin-interacting phosphatase and kinase (STRIPAK) complex is composed of striatin, protein phosphatase PP2A and protein kinases that regulate development in animals and fungi. In the filamentous ascomycete Sordaria macrospora, it is required for fruiting-body development and cell fusion. Here, we report on the presence and function of STRIPAK-associated kinases in ascomycetes. Using the...

Evolutionarily conserved Notch signaling controls cell fate determination and differentiation during development, and is also essential for neovascularization in adults. Although recent studies suggest that the Notch pathway is associated with age-related conditions, it remains unclear whether Notch signaling is involved in vascular aging. Here we show that Notch signaling has a crucial role in...

A bioassay for fungal toxins based on the intraperitoneal injection of test materials into mice was used to screen 976 cultures isolated from tobacco and grown in a high-protein baby cereal and also to determine whether samples of tobacco damaged by fungi are more toxic than samples of apparently sound tobacco. Of 236 fungal isolates from noncured tobacco, 79% were lethal when homogenized cultu...

The Alternaria and Ulocladium species reported from humans are studied taxonomically using rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence data. The ITS variability within the genus is relatively limited. The two most important, longicatenate species, Alternaria alternata and A. infectoria, clearly differ in their ITS domains, due to a 26-bp insert in ITS1 of the latter species. A number of tax...

inhalation of fungal spores is shown to participate in the development of allergic rhinitis symptoms. in this study, relation between presence of alternaria in the human nasal cavity and allergic rhinitis is assessed. in a case-control study, 58 allergic rhinitis patients were compared with a well-matched control group of fifty healthy volunteers for sensitization to alternaria (by skin prick t...

A mycological survey was carried out at Entre Ríos province, Argentina, on sorghum grain, maize, rice, soybean seeds and on freshly harvested and stored wheat. The isolation frequencies and relative densities of species belonging to genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and other fungi were calculated. Alternaria alternata was the major fungal species isolated from sorghum, rice...

Spores of the genus Alternaria belong to one of the most prevailing constituents of the air in all regions of the world. They form infectious inoculum of numerous plant species as well as severe inhaled allergies. The aim of this study was to compare the biological pollution with Alternaria spores of the air of 12 cities located in central and eastern Europe. The experiment was done in 2010 and...