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Enzymatic Activity and Susceptibility to Antifungal Agents of Brazilian Environmental Isolates of Hortaea werneckii

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Abstract

Four strains of Hortaea werneckii were isolated from different substrates in Brazil (a salt marsh macrophyte, a bromeliad and a marine zoanthid) and had their identification confirmed by sequencing of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 domain or ITS region. Most of the strains were able to express amylase, lipase, esterase, pectinase and/or cellulase, enzymes that recognize components of plant cells as substrates, but did not express albuminase, keratinase, phospholipase and DNAse, whose substrates are animal-related. Urease production was positive for all isolates, while caseinase, gelatinase and laccase production were variable among the strains. All the strains grew in media containing up to 30 % NaCl. We propose that the primary substrate associated with H. werneckii is plant-related, in special in saline environments, where the fungus may live as a saprophyte and decomposer. Infection of animal-associated substrates would be secondary, with the fungus acting as an opportunistic animal pathogen. All strains were resistant to fluconazole and presented high MIC for amphotericin B, while they were susceptible to all the other antifungal agents tested.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—process numbers 475378/2013-0 and 408718/2013-7) and FAPERGS (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) for the financial support and scholarships.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Microbiologia Agrícola e do Ambiente, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

      Andrea Formoso, Belize R. Leite & Patricia Valente

    2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina: Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

      Daiane Heidrich & Maria L. Scroferneker

    3. Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, ICBS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Sarmento Leite, 500 sala 210, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil

      Andrea Formoso, Daiane Heidrich, Belize R. Leite, Maria L. Scroferneker & Patricia Valente

    4. Setor de Genética, ICBS, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil

      Ciro Ramón Felix, Anne Carolyne Tenório, Danielle M. Pagani & Melissa Fontes Landell

    5. Programa de Pós-graduação em Diversidade Biológica e Conservação nos Trópicos, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil

      Danielle M. Pagani & Melissa Fontes Landell

    6. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

      Santiago Ortiz-Monsalve

    7. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

      Mauricio Ramírez-Castrillón

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    1. Andrea Formoso
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    Andrea Formoso and Daiane Heidrich have contributed equally for the manuscript.

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    Formoso, A., Heidrich, D., Felix, C.R. et al. Enzymatic Activity and Susceptibility to Antifungal Agents of Brazilian Environmental Isolates of Hortaea werneckii . Mycopathologia 180, 345–352 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9920-3

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