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Dishwashers provide a selective extreme environment for human-opportunistic yeast-like fungi

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Abstract

Urban life has led to the creation of human-made environments that, from a microbiological perspective, provide extreme life conditions. Certain non-ubiquitous microorganisms such as thermophilic members of the black yeast genus Exophiala are enriched within these habitats for which no counterpart is known in nature. Dishwashers consistently accumulate a number of specific black, white and red yeasts on the rubber seals of doors and in stagnant water at the interior. Several of these yeasts are primarily known as agents of human opportunistic infections. In this review, the literature data are supported by a screening study involving 937 households in 15 cities in Turkey. Fungi were detected in 230 samples (24.5 %). Using rDNA sequencing, the prevalent species were identified as Exophiala dermatitidis (n = 116), Candida parapsilosis (n = 44), E. phaeomuriformis (n = 35), Magnusiomyces capitatus (n = 22), Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (n = 15), and C. lusitaniae (n = 14). The possible role of dishwashers in transmitting disease is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Associate Professor Aylin Dogen for conducting the physiological analysis. The authors would also like to thank the staff of the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre collection service, specifically, Mrs. Trix Merkx, Mrs. Marizeth Groenewald, and Mr. Gerard Verkleij, for processing several of the fungal isolates.

Competing interests

The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey

    Ramazan Gümral, Mehmet Ali Saraçlı & Şinasi Taner Yıldıran

  2. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Akdeniz, Antalya, Turkey

    Betil Özhak-Baysan

  3. Department of Microbiology, Adana Numune Training and Research Hospital, Adana, Turkey

    Ayşegül Tümgör

  4. Division of Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Çukurova, Adana, 01330, Turkey

    Macit Ilkit

  5. Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Jerneja Zupančič, Monika Novak-Babič, Nina Gunde-Cimerman & Polona Zalar

  6. Centre of Excellence for Integrated Approaches in Chemistry and Biology of Proteins (CIPKeBiP), Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Nina Gunde-Cimerman

  7. CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  8. Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  9. Research Center for Medical Mycology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  10. Sun Yat-sen Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  11. Shanghai Institute of Medical Mycology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  12. Basic Pathology Department, Federal University of Paraná State, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    G. Sybren de Hoog

  13. King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    G. Sybren de Hoog

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  1. Ramazan Gümral
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  2. Betil Özhak-Baysan
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  3. Ayşegül Tümgör
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  4. Mehmet Ali Saraçlı
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  5. Şinasi Taner Yıldıran
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  6. Macit Ilkit
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  7. Jerneja Zupančič
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  8. Monika Novak-Babič
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  9. Nina Gunde-Cimerman
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  10. Polona Zalar
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  11. G. Sybren de Hoog
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Correspondence to Macit Ilkit.

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Gümral, R., Özhak-Baysan, B., Tümgör, A. et al. Dishwashers provide a selective extreme environment for human-opportunistic yeast-like fungi. Fungal Diversity 76, 1–9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-015-0327-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-015-0327-8

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