Vit Hubka

Charles University in Prague | CUNI

Species of the Trichophyton benhamiae complex are predominantly zoophilic pathogens with a worldwide distribution. These pathogens have recently become important due to their epidemic spread in pets and pet owners. Considerable genetic and phenotypic variability has been revealed in these emerging pathogens, but the species limits and host spectra...

Since the last revision in 2015, the taxonomy of section Flavipedes evolved rapidly along with the availability of new species delimitation techniques. This study aims to re-evaluate the species boundaries of section Flavipedes members using modern delimitation methods applied to an extended set of strains (n = 90) collected from various environmen...

Aspergillus section Candidi encompasses white- or yellow-sporulating species mostly isolated from indoor and cave environments, food, feed, clinical material, soil and dung. Their identification is non-trivial due to largely uniform morphology. This study aims to re-evaluate the species boundaries in the section Candidi and present an overview of a...

Aspergillus series Versicolores members occur in a wide range of environments and substrates such as indoor environments, food, clinical materials, soil, caves, marine or hypersaline ecosystems. The taxonomy of the series has undergone numerous re-arrangements including a drastic reduction in the number of species and subsequent recovery to 17 spec...

The Aspergillus series Nigri contains biotechnologically and medically important species. They can produce hazardous mycotoxins, which is relevant due to the frequent occurrence of these species on foodstuffs and in the indoor environment. The taxonomy of the series has undergone numerous rearrangements, and currently, there are 14 species accepted...

The clinical diagnosis of dermatophytosis and identification of dermatophytes face challenges due to reliance on culture-based methods. Rapid, cost-effective detection techniques for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been developed for other microorganisms, but their application to dermatophytes is limited. This study explores using VOCs as di...

Abstract: Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica, Leuconeurospora bharatiensis from accumulated snow sediment sample. Argentina, Pseudocercospora quetri on leaf spots of Luma apiculata. Australia, Polychaetomyces verrucosus on submerged decaying wood in sea water, Ustilaginoidea co...

The Trichophyton ( T. ) mentagrophytes complex encompasses common dermatophytes causing superficial mycoses in humans and animals. The taxonomy of the complex is unstable, with conflicting views on the species status of some taxa, particularly T. indotineae and T. interdigitale . Due to presence of intermediate genotypes, MALDI-TOF MS and ITS rRNA...

Background Trichophyton mentagrophytes ITS genotype VII (TMVII) has recently been identified in France as the causative agent of dermatophyte infections transmitted during sexual activity among men who have sex with men (MSM). Objectives Our objective was to provide new insights into the epidemiology, clinical presentation and treatment of TMVII i...

Allodiploid hybrid species, Aspergillus latus , belonging to section Nidulantes , is a hybrid of A. spinulosporus and unknown species closely related to A. quadrilineatus and A. subltus . This hybrid has often been misidentified as the species in section Nidulantes , such as A. nidulans , A. spinulosporus , A. sublatus , or other cryptic species ....

In this study, we assessed the phylogenetic relationships among members of Ceratostomella and the morphologically similar genus Xylomelasma, currently classified within the Sordariomycetes. Our phylogenetic analyses, utilising three and five gene markers, revealed that species from these two genera are congeneric, supporting the transfer of Xylomel...

Medically important pathogenic fungi invade vertebrate tissue and are considered primary when part of their nature life cycle is associated with an animal host and are usually able to infect immunocompetent hosts. Opportunistic fungal pathogens complete their life cycle in environmental habitats or occur as commensals within or on the vertebrate bo...

The genus Akanthomyces (Ascomycota, Hypocreales) includes entomopathogenic species known to infect a variety of insects and spiders. In this study, we present the first isolate of A. ampullifer characterized by molecular methods, found on dead bodies of the common cave limoniid Limonia nubeculosa (Diptera) in the subterranean spaces of southwestern...

The clinical diagnosis of dermatophytosis and identification of dermatophytes face challenges due to reliance on culture-based methods. Rapid, cost-effective detection techniques for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been developed for other microorganisms, but their application to dermatophytes is limited. This study explores using VOCs as di...

Spontaneous mycosis caused by Aureobasidium pullulans is documented in roach in a cyprinid-prevalent water reservoir in Czechia. Gross pathological lesions included pale gills and splenomegaly, as revealed during necropsy examination. Histological examination showed extensive foci with fungal elements in the kidney. The isolated fungus was identifi...

The order Eurotiales is diverse and includes species that impact our daily lives in many ways. In the past, its taxonomy was difficult due to morphological similarities, which made accurate identification of species difficult. This situation improved and stabilised with recent taxonomic and nomenclatural revisions that modernised Aspergillus , Peni...

Background: Terbinafine, an allylamine antifungal, is crucial for treating dermatophytosis by inhibiting squalene epoxidase (SQLE) in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway. However, resistance is emerging, particularly in India and Southeast Asia, but reports of resistance spread worldwide. Despite this, comprehensive studies on terbinafine resistanc...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Argentina, Neocamarosporium halophilum in leaf spots of Atriplex undulata. Australia, Aschersonia merianiae on scale insect (Coccoidea), Curvularia huamulaniae isolated from air, Hevansia mainiae on dead spider, Ophiocordyceps poecilometigena on Poecilom...

Black yeasts comprise a group of Ascomycota of the order Chaetothyriales with highly variable morphology, a great diversity of ecological niches and life cycles. Despite the ubiquity of these fungi, their diversity in freshwater sediments is still poorly understood. During a survey of culturable Ascomycota from river and stream sediments in various...

The rapid pace of name changes of medically important fungi is creating challenges for clinical laboratories and clinicians involved in patient care. We describe two sources of name change which have different drivers, at the species versus the genus level. Some suggestions are made here to reduce the number of name changes. We urge taxonomists to...

A mycotic infection manifesting as abdominal distension with free serous fluid accumulation in the coelomic cavity is documented in farmed rainbow trout. Histological examination using PAS and silver staining revealed the presence of numerous fungal hyphae in the spleen and gastrointestinal wall. The isolated fungus was sterile and identified by us...

Arthroderma is the most diverse genus of dermatophytes, and its natural reservoir is considered to be soil enriched by keratin sources. During a study on the diversity of dermatophytes in wild small rodents in the Czech Republic, we isolated several strains of Arthroderma . To explore the diversity and ecological significance of these isolates from...

This study looked for correlations between molecular identification, clinical manifestation and morphology for Trichophyton interdigitale and T. mentagrophytes. For this purpose, a total of 110 isolates were obtained from Czech patients with various clinical manifestations of dermatophytosis. Phenotypic characters were analysed, and the strains wer...

S8.4 Cases of animal mycoses, September 23, 2022, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Trichophyton erinacei is a main cause of dermatophytosis in hedgehogs and is increasingly reported from human infections worldwide. It is found in wild European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) but also in the African four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris), a popular pet animal...

Cannabis preparations are gaining popularity among patients with various skin diseases. Due to the lack of scientific evidence, dermatologists remain cautious about their prescriptions. So far, only a few studies have been published about the effects of high-potency cannabis extracts on microorganisms (especially dermatophytes) causing skin problem...

Trichophyton erinacei is a main cause of dermatophytosis in hedgehogs and is increasingly reported from human infections worldwide. This pathogen was originally described in the European hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus ) but is also frequently found in the African four-toed hedgehog ( Atelerix albiventris ), a popular pet animal worldwide. Little is...

Trichophyton benhamiae var. luteum and T. europaeum – recently described dermatophytes within the T. benhamiae complex – were identified in nine cases of dermatophytosis involving guinea pigs, chinchillas and dogs. The diagnosis was obtained through direct hair/scale examination, culture and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of r...

This article reports the first verified cases of infection by Trichophyton bullosum in Africa since the description of the fungus, isolated in 1933 from the coat of horses in Tunisia and Mali. We found the fungus in cutaneous samples obtained from donkeys suffering from severe dermatitis with areas of alopecia and scaling in the surroundings of Cai...

The fungal cell wall, comprised primarily of protein and polymeric carbohydrate, maintains cell structure, provides protection from the environment, and is an important antifungal drug target. Pir proteins (proteins with internal repeats) are linked to cell wall β-1,3-glucan and are best studied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sequential deletion of S...

This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of antifungal resistance, genetic mechanisms associated with in vitro induction of azole and echinocandin resistance and genotyping of Candida krusei , which is intrinsically resistant to fluconazole and is recovered from clinical and non-clinical sources from different countries. Our results indic...

Microsporum canis is considered one of the most common zoophilic dermatophyte species causing infections in animals and humans worldwide. However, molecular epidemiological studies on this dermatophyte are still rare. In this study, we aimed to analyse the population structure and relationships between M. canis strains (n = 66) collected in souther...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antartica, Cladosporium austrolitorale from coastal sea sand. Australia, Austroboletus yourkae on soil, Crepidotus innuopurpureus on dead wood, Curvularia stenotaphri from roots and leaves of Stenotaphrum secundatum and Thecaphora stajsicii from capsules...

Triadelphia (Ascomycota, Microascales) is a genus encompassing pleomorphic dematiaceous micromycetes occurring sporadically on rotting wood and other plant material, infrequently also on other substrates. In this study, we document a second record of Triadelphia morgoensis, found on a twig of Populus nigra near Prague (Czech Republic), after its or...

Background Species from the Trichophyton benhamiae complex are mostly zoophilic dermatophytes which cause inflammatory dermatophytosis in animals and humans worldwide. Objectives This study was purposed to 1) to identify 169 reference and clinical dermatophyte strains from the T. benhamiae complex species by molecular method and adhering to the ne...

Pathogens from the Trichophyton benhamiae complex are one of the most important causes of animal mycoses with significant zoonotic potential. In light of the recently revised taxonomy of this complex, we retrospectively identified 38 Trichophyton isolates that could not be resolved into any of the existing species. These strains were isolated from...

Trichophyton quinckeanum, a zoophilic dermatophyte mostly known as the causative agent of rodent favus, is relatively rarely reported to cause human infections. Indeed, no infections were detected in Czechia between 2012 and 2015 despite routine verification of species identification by ITS rDNA sequencing. By contrast, 25 human and 11 animal cases...

Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distin...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Algeria , Phaeoacremonium adelophialidum from Vitis vinifera . Antarctica , Comoclathris antarctica from soil. Australia , Coniochaeta salicifolia as endophyte from healthy leaves of Geijera salicifolia , Eremothecium peggii in fruit of Citrus australis...

Arthroderma is the most diverse genus among dermatophytes encompassing species occurring in soil, caves, animal burrows, clinical material and other environments. In this study, we collected ex-type, reference and authentic strains of all currently accepted Arthroderma species and generated sequences of three highly variable loci (ITS rDNA, β-tubul...

The enzymatic and antifungal profiles of dermatophytes play an important role in causing infections in humans and animals. This study aimed to assess the virulence factors produced by Microsporum canis strains, in vitro antifungal profile and the relationship between virulence, antifungal profile and occurrence of lesions in animals and humans. A t...

This draft of guidelines for the laboratory diagnosis of dermatomycoses was developed based on discussion among members of the Czech Society for Medical Microbiology Working Group on Mycology. The document Guidelines for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Dermatomycoses was published for discussion on the Czech Society for Medical Microbiology website on...

The rising number of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) admitted every year to wildlife rehabilitation centres might be a source of concern to animal and public health since transmissible diseases, such as dermatophytosis, can be easily disseminated. This study seeks to evaluate the frequency of dermatophyte detection in hedgehogs admitted to...

The agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) gene family encodes cell-surface adhesins that interact with host and abiotic surfaces, promoting colonization by opportunistic fungal pathogens such as Candida tropicalis. Studies of Als protein contribution to C. tropicalis adhesion would benefit from an accurate catalog of ALS gene sequences as well as insight...

Bradymyces oncorhynchi is a poorly known melanised fungal species that has been isolated only from a hyperaemic focus near the enlarged spleen of a rainbow trout. Although the pathogenicity of this species to fish is suspected, it has not been fully confirmed. Four laboratory experiments were conducted to test the effect of the fungus on the health...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica, Cladosporium arenosum from marine sediment sand. Argentina, Kosmimatamyces alatophylus (incl. Kosmimatamyces gen. nov.) from soil. Australia, Aspergillus banksianus, Aspergillus kumbius, Aspergillus luteorubrus, Aspergillus malvicolor and Asp...

The Eurotiales is a relatively large order of Ascomycetes with members frequently having positive and negative impact on human activities. Species within this order gain attention from various research fields such as food, indoor and medical mycology and biotechnology. In this article we give an overview of families and genera present in the Euroti...

Aspergillus section Nidulantes encompasses almost 80 homothallic and anamorphic species, mostly isolated from soil, plant material, or the indoor environment. Some species are clinically relevant or produce mycotoxins. This study reevaluated the species boundaries within several clades of section Nidulantes. Five data sets were assembled, each cont...

In this study, spontaneous swim bladder mycosis was documented in a farmed fingerling rainbow trout from a raceway culture system. At necropsy, the gross lesions included a thickened swim bladder wall, and the posterior portion of the swim bladder was enlarged due to massive hyperplasia of muscle. A microscopic wet mount examination of the swim bla...

A six-year-old domestic shorthair cat was presented for a subcutaneous digital nodular lesion on the right forelimb. On physical examination a similar lesion was identified on the right hindlimb. Disseminated cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis was diagnosed from histopathological changes in representative tissue biopsies and fungal culture. The isolate wa...

Toenail onychomycosis caused by dermatophytes is a significant medical and financial worldwide burden. Relatively scant research has been undertaken as to the predominant species and strains causing this condition in Australia, which is a unique isolated continent with diverse geographical, climatic and population regions. Four regions were selecte...

Bridelia species have been used in traditional African medicine for the management of diverse human ailments. In the current work, the detailed phytochemical profiles of the extracts of the stem bark of B. speciosa were evaluated and the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties of the extracts were assessed. The anti-bacterial and anti-mycotic...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Chaetomella pseudocircinoseta and Coniella pseudodiospyri on Eucalyptus microcorys leaves, Cladophialophora eucalypti, Teratosphaeria dunnii and Vermiculariopsiella dunnii on Eucalyptus dunnii leaves, Cylindrium grande and Hypsotheca eucalypto...

Aflatoxins and ochratoxins are among the most important mycotoxins of all and producers of both types of mycotoxins are present in Aspergillus section Flavi, albeit never in the same species. Some of the most efficient producers of aflatoxins and ochratoxins have not been described yet. Using a polyphasic approach combining phenotype, physiology, s...

Colletotrichum species are known as important pathogens of plants with an impact on crop production. Some of these species are also known as a cause of rare ophthalmic infections in humans. A case of keratitis caused by Colletotrichum dematium after corneal trauma in a 56-year-old woman is presented. Infection was diagnosed based on positive micros...

Cryptic species within the section Fumigati, that is Aspergillus fumigatus-like species, are increasingly reported in the literature as causative agents of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in both humans and animals. Their detection and proper identification are important, but even more important is to determine the susceptibility profile (minimum inhib...

Cerebral abscesses caused by dark-pigmented Fonsecaea fungi are rare, especially in otherwise healthy individuals. In this case report, we present a 61-year-old man from Moldova, living in the Czech Republic, who had worked as a locksmith on oil platforms in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Sudan, and Iraq since 1999, and was admitted to a neurology ward...

Zoophilic dermatophytes are the most important agents of the superficial mycoses in domestic and farm animals, and are often transmitted to humans. This group includes approximately ten specialized parasitic fungi belonging to the genera Trichophyton and Microsporum. While infections in animals have often mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, human in...

We report five cases of tinea faciei and tinea corporis in four young women and a boy, caused by zoophilic species Tri- chophyton erinacei. All patients kept hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris) at home and they consistently stated that animals did not show any visible signs of the infection. These are the first cases in the Czech Republic described in...

Although Aspergillus fumigatus is the major agent of invasive aspergillosis, an increasing number of infections are caused by its cryptic species, especially A. lentulus and the A. viridinutans species complex (AVSC). Their identification is clinically relevant because of antifungal drug resistance and refractory infections. Species boundaries in t...

Pythium oligandrum (Oomycota) is known for its strong mycoparasitism against more than 50 fungal and oomycete species. However, the ability of this oomycete to suppress and kill the causal agents of dermatophytoses is yet to be studied. We provide a complex study of the interactions between P. oligandrum and dermatophytes representing all species d...

V průběhu dlouhodobého studia mikroskopických hub v osmdesáti evropských podzemních prostorách (jeskyně, opuštěné doly) byly nalezeny také mrtvá těla a kostry živocičhu žijících v tomto prostředí či nahodilých návštěvníků, některé s viditelnými nárosty mikroskopických hub. Přímá izolace, zředovací metoda a různá média byly použity pro izolaci konkr...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Chaetopsina eucalypti on Eucalyptus leaf litter, Colletotrichum cobbittiense from Cordyline stricta × C. australis hybrid, Cyanodermella banksiae on Banksia ericifolia subsp. macrantha, Discosia macrozamiae on Macrozamia miquelii, Elsinoë bank...

Zoophilic dermatophytes are frequently responsible for superficial mycoses in mammals worldwide. They comprise approximately ten specialized parasitic fungi belonging to genera Trichophyton and Microsporum. Due to contagious nature of the disease, the majority of species possess potential to cause outbreaks at least in their principal host(s) and a...