PURPOSE To compare the virulence of wild-type Candida albicans strains in a murine model of corneal candidiasis and to investigate the role of fungal filamentation in disease progression. METHODS Scarified corneas of immunocompetent or cyclophosphamide-treated BALB/c mice were topically inoculated with one of three human isolates of C. albicans, a homozygous mutant of the pH-dependent filamen...

Molecular characterization of locally isolated Beauveria bassiana (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) strains and their pathogenicity against Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) adults are herein reported for the first time. Molecular identification based on the phylogenetic analyses of ITS-rDNA and combined data of TEF1 and Bloc, revealed that all fungal strains were conclusively assigned to ...

cr(iii), co(ii), ni(ii), cu(ii) and zn(ii) salts of 2-(4-nitrophenylaminocarbonyl)benzoic acid were characterized by physical, analytical and spectroscopic studies and checked for their  in-vitro antimicrobial activity against three bacterial strains, mycobacterium smegmatis (gram +ve), escherichia coli (gram -ve), pseudomonas aeuroginosa (gram -ve) and three fungal strains, nigrospora oryzae, ...

Ramichloridium obovoideum ("Ramichloridium makenziei") is a rare cause of lethal cerebral phaeohyphomycosis. It has been, so far, geographically restricted to the Middle East. BALB/c mice were inoculated with two strains of R. obovoideum intracranially. Therapy with amphotericin B, itraconazole, or the investigational triazole SCH 56592 was conducted for 10 days. Half the mice were monitored fo...

BACKGROUND Chemical methods of producing dyes involve extreme temperatures and unsafe toxic compounds. Application of oxidizing enzymes obtained from fungal species, for example laccase, is an alternative to chemical synthesis of dyes. Laccase can be replaced by fungal biomass acting as a whole-cell biocatalyst with properties comparable to the isolated form of the enzyme. The application of th...

Despite the large number of reports describing sponge-microbe associations, limited knowledge is available about associated fungi and their relationships with the hosts. In this work, specific fungal strains were obtained directly from in vitro sponge cell cultures (primmorphs) and single sponge cells (cytospins) and compared with those obtained from whole tissue preparations. A total of 27 fun...

Introduction of a new antimicrobial agent as a drug--for treatment of infections or as a disinfectant and antiseptic, may result in the occurrence of resistance mechanisms against this agent among microorganisms. Two disinfectants of different composition--Incidin Plus for surface disinfection and Sekusept Plus for medical devices disinfection, both containing glucoprotamin as the active substa...

Endophytes from Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li, an important source of anti-leukemia drugs, have not been widely explored. In this study, 265 endophytic fungal isolates from C. hainanensis Li were screened for antimicrobial activities against tilapia, banana, rice, and rape and for antitumor activities against human leukemia cell lines (K562, NB4, and HL-60). Diversity was also analyzed. The resul...

The present study focuses on fungal strains capable of secreting extracellular enzymes by utilizing hydrocarbons present in the contaminated soil. Fungal strains were enriched from petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soil samples collected from Chennai city, India. The potential fungi were isolated and screened for their enzyme secretion such as lipase, laccase, peroxidase and protease and also...