Black yeast
“Black yeasts”, sometimes also black fungi, dematiaceous fungi, microcolonial fungi or meristematic fungi[1] is an umbrella term to describe a diverse group of slow-growing microfungi which reproduce exclusively asexually (fungi imperfecti). Though they are rather ubiquitous and found in many different ecosystems such as the Mediterranean basin, tropical forests, hot and cold dry deserts, humidifiers or salterns, black yeasts share some distinctive characteristics, in particular melanisation of their cell wall and ability to grow meristematically (isodiametrically).[2][3][4][5] Such passive physiological adaptations enable black fungi to be highly resistant against environmental stresses.[6] Presence of 1,8-dihydroxynaphtalene melanin in the cell wall[7] confers to the microfungi their characteristic olivaceous to dark brown/black colour. The members of this group are morphologically very similar but phylogenetically diverse and mainly found in the orders Capnodiales, Dothideales, Pleosporales (class Dothideomycetes) and Chaetothyriales (class Eurotiomycetes).[8][9] Many representatives of this group can colonize bare rocks and are therefore referred to as rock-inhabiting fungi.[8][9]
Black yeasts are often associated with lichens[10][11] and sometimes with ants in specific ant-fungi associations.[12] Some are also pathogenic to humans, like the well-known species Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis.[13]
In recent years, black fungi such as E. dermatitidis or Hortaea werneckii have attracted increasingly attention as model microorganisms in studies on astrobiology,[14] bioremediation of polluted ecosystems by biofiltration,[15] effect of ionizing radiations in contaminated area,[16][17] biodeterioration of materials,[18][19] and mechanisms of adaptation to high salt concentrations.[20] A collaborative effort coordinated by the Broad Institute is currently ongoing to sequence the genomes of several black fungi to shed light into their ecology, phylogeny and pathogenicity.
Black yeasts are believed to be the most resistant eukaryotic organisms known to-date.[6] They were firstly described in the early ’80 by three almost concomitant seminal research articles.[21][22][23]
In 2011, a research paper about occurrence of potentially pathogenic black fungi in household dishwashers[24] was partially misreported by the media and vent viral.[25][26]
References
- ^ Sterflinger K (2006). Black yeasts and meristematic fungi: ecology, diversity and identification. In: Péter, G., Rosa, C. (Eds.), The Yeast Handbook. Biodiversity and Ecophysiology of Yeasts. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 501-514.
- ^ Sudhadham M, Prakitsin S, Sivichai S, Chaiyarat R, Dorrestein GM, Menken SB, de Hoog GS (2008). The neurotropic black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis has a possible origin in the tropical rain forest. Studies in Mycology 61: 145-55. PMID: 19287537.
- ^ de Hoog GS, Hermanides-Nijhof EJ (1977). The Black Yeasts and Allied Hyphomycetes. Studies in Mycology. 15: 1–222.
- ^ Butinar L, Sonjak S, Zalar P, Plemenitas A, Gunde-Cimerman N (2005). Melanized halophilic fungi are eukaryotic members of microbial communities in hypersaline waters of solar salterns. Botanica Marina 48: 73-79.
- ^ Matos T, de Hoog GS, de Boer AG, de Crom I, Haase G (2002). High prevalence of the neurotrope Exophiala dermatitidis and related oligotrophic black yeasts in sauna facilities. Mycoses 45: 373-7. PMID: 12421284
- ^ a b Gostincar C, Grube M, de Hoog GS, Zalar P, Gunde-Cimerman N (2010). Extremotolerance in fungi: evolution on the edge. FEMS Microbiology and Ecology 71: 2-11 (Review). PMID: 19878320
- ^ Kogej T, Wheeler MH, Lanisnik Rizner T, Gunde-Cimerman N (2004). Evidence for 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene melanin in three halophilic black yeasts grown under saline and non-saline conditions. FEMS Microbiology Letters 232: 203-9. PMID: 15033240
- ^ a b Gueidan C, Villasenor CR, de Hoog GS, Gorbushina AA, Untereiner WA, Lutzoni F (2008). A rock-inhabiting ancestor for mutualistic and pathogen-rich fungal lineages. Studies in Mycology 61: 111-9. PMID: 19287533
- ^ a b Ruibal C, Gueidan C, Selbmann L, Gorbushina AA, Crous PW, Groenewald JZ, Muggia L, Grube M, Isola D, Schoch CL, Staley JT, Lutzoni F, de Hoog GS (2009). Phylogeny of rock-inhabiting fungi related to Dothideomycetes. Studies in Mycology 64: 123-133. PMID: 20169026
- ^ Muggia L, Gueidan C, Knudsen K, Perlmutter G, Grube M (2012). The Lichen Connections of Black Fungi. Mycopathologia. 2012 Nov 17. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23161018
- ^ Harutyunyan S, Muggia L, Grube M (2008). Black fungi in lichens from seasonally arid habitats. Studies in Mycology 61: 83-90. PMID: 19287530
- ^ Voglmayr H, Mayer V, Maschwitz U, Moog J, Djieto-Lordon C, Blatrix R (2011). The diversity of ant-associated black yeasts: insights into a newly discovered world of symbiotic interactions. Fungal Biology 115: 1077-91. PMID: 21944219
- ^ de Hoog GS, Guarro J, Gené J, Figueras MJ (2009). Atlas of Clinical Fungi, third ed. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- ^ Onofri S, Barreca D, Selbmann L, Isola D, Rabbow E, Horneck G, de Vera JP, Hatton J, Zucconi L (2008). Resistance of Antarctic black fungi and cryptoendolithic communities to simulated space and Martian conditions. Studies in Mycology 61: 99-109. PMID: 19287532
- ^ Prenafeta-Boldú FX, Summerbell R, Sybren de Hoog G (2006). Fungi growing on aromatic hydrocarbons: biotechnology's unexpected encounter with biohazard? FEMS Microbiology Review 30:109-30 (Review). PMID: 16438682
- ^ Robertson KL, Mostaghim A, Cuomo CA, Soto CM, Lebedev N, Bailey RF, Wang Z (2012). Adaptation of the Black Yeast Wangiella dermatitidis to Ionizing Radiation: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms. PLoS One 7(11): e48674. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048674
- ^ Dadachova E, Bryan RA, Huang X, Moadel T, Schweitzer AD, Aisen P, Nosanchuk JD, Casadevall A (2007). Ionizing radiation changes the electronic properties of melanin and enhances the growth of melanized fungi. PLoS One. 2(5): e457. PMID: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000457
- ^ Cappitelli F, Nosanchuk JD, Casadevall A, Toniolo L, Brusetti L, Florio S, Principi P, Borin S, Sorlini C (2007). Synthetic consolidants attacked by melanin-producing fungi: case study of the biodeterioration of Milan (Italy) cathedral marble treated with acrylics. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73: 271-7. PMID: 17071788
- ^ Gorbushina AA., Krumbein WE, Hamman CH, Panina L, Soukharjevski S, Wollenzien U (1993). Role of Black Fungi in Color-Change and Biodeterioration of Antique Marbles. Geomicrobiology Journal 11: 205-221.
- ^ Plemenitas A, Vaupotic T, Lenassi M, Kogej T, Gunde-Cimerman N (2008). Adaptation of extremely halotolerant black yeast Hortaea werneckii to increased osmolarity: a molecular perspective at a glance. Studies in Mycology 61: 67-75. PMID: 19287528
- ^ Staley JT, Palmer F, Adams JB (1982). Microcolonial fungi: common inhabitants on desert rocks? Science 215: 1093-5. PMID: 17771840
- ^ Krumbein WE, Jens K (1981). Biogenic Rock Varnishes of the Negev Desert (Israel) an Ecological Study of Iron and Manganese Transformation by Cyanobacteria and Fungi. Oecologia 50: 25-38.
- ^ Friedmann EI (1982). Endolithic microorganisms in the antarctic cold desert. Science 215: 1045-53. PMID: 17771821
- ^ Zalar P, Novak M, de Hoog GS, Gunde-Cimerman N (2011). Dishwashers – a man-made ecological niche accommodating human opportunistic fungal pathogens. Fungal Biology 115: 997-1007. PMID: 21944212
- ^ My dishwasher is trying to kill me on Science Illustrated
- ^ My Dishwasher Is Trying to Kill Me: New Research Finds Harmful Fungal Pathogens Living in Dishwasher Seals on Science Daily
External links
Website of the Working Group Black Yeast
Black Yeast Database from the Broad Institute
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