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Thielavia subthermophila (CBS 125981). (A) A culture on oatmeal agar at 42°C after 2 weeks in darkness with lupine stem grew rapidly and was flat and velvety or floccose, with an olivaceous-black reverse. (B and C) Scattered black ascomata developing within the hyphae. (D and E) The brown, fusiform ascospores are single celled (10 to 12 by 7.5 to 8.5 μm) and have a characteristic subapical germ pore measuring 1 to 1.5 μm. Scale bars, 10 μm.
Source publication
We report the first case of fatal brain infection in an Indian farmer caused by Thielavia subthermophila, a dematiaceous thermophilic fungus in the order Sordariales, and present a review of previous infections from this order. The patient failed amphotericin B therapy combined with surgical
excision despite the drug's low MICs in vitro.
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Citations
... We isolated Chaetomium strumarium which has been reported as the causal agent of subcutaneous mycosis in a patient with diabetes mellitus type 2 (Verma et al., 2015). Thielavia subthermophila and Cladosporium sphaerospermum were both reported infecting the brain in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals (Badali et al., 2011;Batra et al., 2019). Aspergillus nidulans was reported as the cause of invasive fungal infections from patients suffering from chronic granulomatous disease, while A. sydowii was reported causing a superficial skin infection in an HIV-positive patient (Borgohain et al., 2019;Henriet et al., 2012). ...
he Caribbean is influenced by Sahara Dust Storms (SDS) every year. SDS can transport a diversity of microorganisms, including potential pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. In fact, SDS have been suggested as a source of Aspergillus sydowii, reported to cause aspergillosis disease in gorgonian sea fans. However, the diversity of fungal spores in SDS remains unknown and there are con- flicting studies as to whether A. sydowii spore are capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we estimated the fungal diversity of the Saharan dust trapped on air filters during five days of a ship’s tra- jectory in the eastern Atlantic during a dust event. Also, we investigated whether SDS is a potential source of opportunistic fungal pathogens. We isolated 30 morphospecies including the ascomycetes Asper- gillus (33% of identified isolates), Thielavia (18%), Penicillium (12%), Chaetomium strumarium (3%), Periconia (2%), and Cladosporium sphaerosper- mum (1%). Many of these groups include opportun- istic pathogens. Species diversity was similar across days but with significant differences between Days 3 vs 5 and between hazy vs clear days. We report for the first time that Thielavia, Chaetomium strumarium and Periconia are present in SDS and are capable of surviving long-distance transport in SDS. The pres- ence of A. sydowii isolates is consistent with reports of SDS as a source of inoculum for sea fan aspergillo- sis. This could signify that SDS are carriers of viable, potentially pathogenic spores which can be deposited on terrestrial or aquatic substrates.
... Chaetomium globosum is the most prevalent causative agent within the family mainly affecting the skin and nails. 5 Other new neurotropic species such as Amesia atrobrunnea (= Chaetomium atrobrunneum), Achaetomium strumarium (= Chaetomium strumarium), Thielavia subthermophila, 17 and Chaetomium perlucidum have been reported especially in immunosuppressed patients. 8,18,19 Also, a case of onychomycosis due to Achaet. ...
The incidence of infections caused by uncommon Chaetomiaceae (Chaetomium and related species) in humans has increased in the recent years. The in vitro activity of eight antifungal drugs (amphotericin B, five azoles, two echinocandins) against 42 morphologically identified Chaetomium strains was determined according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. The strains were subsequently identified based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 including the intervening 5.8S nrDNA region (ITS) and the partial β tubulin gene (tub2). Chaetomium globosum (n = 24), was the most frequently isolated species, followed by Amesia atrobrunnea (syn. Chaetomium atrobrunnea, n = 6), Dichotomopilus dolichotrichus (syn. Chaetomium dolichotrichum, n = 2) and Acrophialophora jodhpurensis, Chaetomium coarctatum, C. elatum, C. gracile, C. subaffine, C. tarraconense, C. unguicola, Dichotomopilus sp., Dichotomopilus variostiolatus, Ovatospora brasiliensis (all represented by a single strain). The geometric means of the minimum inhibitory concentrations/minimum effective concentrations (MICs/MECs) of the antifungals across all strains were (in increasing order): micafungin 0.12 µg/ml, itraconazole and posaconazole 0.21 µg/ml, amphotericin B 0.25 µg/ml, voriconazole 0.45 µg/ml, isavuconazole 0.54 µg/ml, caspofungin 2.57 µg/ml, and fluconazole 45.25 µg/ml. Micafungin had the lowest geometric mean followed by amphotericin B which had the largest range against tested isolates. All examined C. globosum strains had similar antifungal susceptibility patterns. Fluconazole and caspofungin could not be considered as an option for treatment of infections caused by Chaetomium and chaetomium-like species.
Lay summary
Infections caused by uncommon fungi such as Chaetomium have increased in the recent years. Chaetomium globosum has been reported from onychomycosis and phaeohyphomycosis. This species often induces superficial infections in immunocompetent patients. The taxonomy of Chaetomium spp. has changed dramatically in the last years. Antifungal treatment is a crucial step for managing these kinds of infections. Therefore, the in vitro activity of eight antifungal drugs against Chaetomium strains was determined and β-tubulin (tub2) sequencing was applied to identify the strains. Chaetomium globosum was the most frequent species in our dataset. Based on the results of susceptibility testing, micafungin had the lowest geometric mean followed by amphotericin B. Fluconazole and caspofungin cannot be considered a proper treatment option for infections caused by Chaetomium and chaetomium-like species.
... Recent reevaluation of this fungal family has seen the integration of many hyphomycete genera into this family and linked many asexual species to their sexual relatives [8]. Many species in the Chaetomiaceae such as Chaetomium, Madurella, and Thielavia have been implicated in various infections (i.e., human mycetoma, onychomycosis, otitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, and cerebral abscess) [11][12][13][14][15]. Several species of Thielavia, vis., T. arenaria, T. microspora, T. subthermophila, and T. gigaspora, have recently been reclassified in Canariomyces and Stolonocarpus [8]. ...
... Few reports of infection by these species have been reported. Canariomyces subthermophilus was reported to cause keratitis, and Thermothelomyces heterothallicus causing a disseminated infection [12,16]. Some thermotolerant species in the Chaetomiaceae have been found to cause invasive infections [12]. ...
... Canariomyces subthermophilus was reported to cause keratitis, and Thermothelomyces heterothallicus causing a disseminated infection [12,16]. Some thermotolerant species in the Chaetomiaceae have been found to cause invasive infections [12]. ...
This report describes the phenotypic characteristics of a novel fungal species, isolated from a prosthetic hip infection. The patient, who had undergone multiple total hip arthroplasties due to Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, presented with continued fever and wound dehiscence. Findings upon incision and draining were notable for necrotic tissue and a sinus tract from the fluid collection. Intraoperative cultures were positive for a sterile filamentous fungus. BLASTn results following DNA sequencing placed the isolate within the family Chaetomiaceae close to the genera Madurella, Canariomyces, Stolonocarpus, Stellatospora, Ovatospora, Carteria and Melanocarpus. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the isolate was a new thielavia-like species, Pseudocanariomyces americanus. Antifungal susceptibility was performed, and low minimum inhibitory concentrations were observed with amphotericin B, itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole. The patient was initially treated with voriconazole but was switched to posaconazole secondary to a photosensitivity reaction. Acceptable posaconazole trough concentrations were achieved, and the patient remained stable without pain or drainage from her surgical incision.
... Several species were found to produce bioactive metabolites, such as inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis in Th. terricola (Kitahara et al. 1981), antifungal compounds active against Candida albicans in Th. subthermophila ( Qadri et al. 2014), and antifouling activities in a Thielavia sp. ( Han et al. 2017). On the other hand, the thermotolerant species Th. subthermophila has been reported as the causal agent of keratitis ( Theoulakis et al. 2009) and fatal cerebral mycoses ( Badali et al. 2011). ...
The genus Thielavia is morphologically defined by having non-ostiolate ascomata with a thin peridium composed of textura epidermoidea, and smooth, singlecelled, pigmented ascospores with one germ pore. Thielavia is typified with Th. basicola that grows in close association with a hyphomycete which was traditionally identified as Thielaviopsis basicola. Besides Th. basicola exhibiting the mycoparasitic nature, the majority of the described Thielavia species are from soil, and some have economic and ecological importance. Unfortunately, no living type material of Th. basicola exists, hindering a proper understanding of the classification of Thielavia. Therefore, Thielavia basicola was neotypified by material of a mycoparasite presenting the same ecology and morphology as described in the original description. We subsequently performed a multi-gene phylogenetic analyses (rpb2, tub2, ITS and LSU) to resolve the phylogenetic relationships of the species currently recognised in Thielavia. Our results demonstrate that Thielavia is highly polyphyletic, being related to three family-level lineages in two orders. The redefined genus Thielavia is restricted to its type species, Th. basicola, which belongs to the Ceratostomataceae (Melanosporales) and its host is demonstrated to be Berkeleyomyces rouxiae, one of the two species in the “Thielaviopsis basicola” species complex. The new family Podosporaceae is sister to the Chaetomiaceae in the Sordariales and accommodates the re-defined genera Podospora, Trangularia and Cladorrhinum, with the last genus including two former Thielavia species (Th. hyalocarpa and Th. intermedia). This family also includes the genetic model species Podospora anserina, which was combined in Triangularia (as Triangularia anserina). The remaining Thielavia species fall in ten unrelated clades in the Chaetomiaceae, leading to the proposal of nine new genera (Carteria, Chrysanthotrichum, Condenascus, Hyalosphaerella, Microthielavia, Parathielavia, Pseudothielavia, Stolonocarpus and Thermothielavioides). The genus Canariomyces is transferred from Microascaceae (Microascales) to Chaetomiaceae based on its type species Can. notabilis. Canariomyces is closely related to the human-pathogenic genus Madurella, and includes three thielavia-like species and one novel species. Three monotypic genera with a chaetomium-like morph (Brachychaeta, Chrysocorona and Floropilus) are introduced to better resolve the Chaetomiaceae and the thielavia-like species in the family. Chrysocorona lucknowensis and Brachychaeta variospora are closely related to Acrophialophora and three newly introduced genera containing thielavia-like species; Floropilus chiversii is closely related to the industrially important and thermophilic species Thermothielavioides terrestris (syn. Th. terrestris). This study shows that the thielavia-like morph is a homoplastic form that originates from several separate evolutionary events. Furthermore, our results provide new insights into the taxonomy of Sordariales and the polyphyletic Lasiosphaeriaceae.
... Correct classification of Chaetomiaceae is even more urgent as some isolates have been recently described as opportunistic human pathogens, e.g. causing fatal Emyctoma (an endemic fungal disease to Eastern Africa) (Destino et al. 2006;Badali et al. 2011;de Hoog et al. 2013), while other close relatives are used as industrial enzyme producers (Maheshwari et al. 2000;Visser et al. 2011). Optimal growth temperature is a polyphyletic trait within Chaetomiaceae Growth temperature preferences have traditionally been categorized in four ambiguous terms: psychrophilic, mesophilic, thermotolerant, and thermophilic (Maheshwari 2005;Hoshino & Matsumoto 2012). ...
Thermophilic fungi have the potential to produce industrial-relevant thermostable enzymes, in particular for the degradation of plant biomass. Sordariales is one of the few fungal orders containing several thermophilic taxa, of which many have been associated with the production of thermostable enzymes. The evolutionary affiliation of Sordariales fungi, especially between thermophiles and non-thermophilic relatives, is however poorly understood. Phylogenetic analysis within the current study was based on sequence data, derived from a traditional Sanger and highly multiplexed targeted next generation sequencing approach of 45 isolates. The inferred phylogeny and detailed growth analysis rendered the trait 'thermophily' as polyphyletic within Chaetomiaceae (Sordariales, Sordariomycetes), and characteristic to: Myceliophthora spp., Thielavia terrestris, Chaetomium thermophilum, and Mycothermus thermophilus. Compared to mesophiles, the isolates within thermophilic taxa produced enzyme mixtures with the highest thermostability of known cellulase activities. Temperature profiles of the enzyme activities correlated strongly with the optimal growth temperatures of the isolates but not with their phylogenetic relationships. This strong correlation between growth and enzyme characteristics indicated that detailed analysis of growth does give predictive information on enzyme physiology. The variation in growth and enzyme characteristics reveals these fungi as an excellent platform to better understand fungal thermophily and enzyme thermostability.
... Members of Pleosporales are preponderantly found as degraders of plants debris or as mild opportunistic pathogens; human infections mostly comprise traumatic inoculation of contaminated materials (Revankar and Sutton 2010). Recently, the significance of Sordariales was underlined (Badali et al. 2011;de Hoog et al. 2013b), particularly the Chaetomiaceae whose prevalence has been underestimated because of diagnostic problems. ...
... Apparently also immunocompetent individuals are at risk of deep infections by Chaetomium or related fungi. As an example, a case of fatal cerebral phaeohyphomycosis caused by Thielavia subthermophila was reported in immunocompetent individuals (Badali et al. 2011). Chaetomium atrobrunneum, C. perlucidum, and C. strumarium were now regarded as neurotropic species causing serious and lifethreatening infections (Abbott et al. 1995;Barron et al. 2003;Guppy et al. 1998). ...
Members of the family Chaetomiaceae are ubiquitous ascosporulating fungi commonly, which reside in soil enriched with manure or cellulosic materials. Their role as human pathogens is largely ignored. However, the ability of some species to grow at high temperature enables them to play an important role as opportunistic pathogens. The family contains several genera and species that have never been reported to cause human infection. Hereby, three new species are described; two belong to the genus Subramaniula and one represents a Chaetomium species. Subramaniula asteroides was isolated from various sources including eye and skin infections as well as from the natural environment, and S. obscura was isolated from a toe infection. Chaetomium anamorphosum was isolated from a kidney transplant patient suffering from fungal peritonitis. All species described were previously misidentified as Papulaspora spp. due to the formation of cellular clumps or bulbil-like structures, which are characteristic of Papulaspora. The isolates failed to form sexual fruit bodies and ascospores remained absent, which is an unusual feature for the generally ascosporulating genera Chaetomium and Subramaniula; minute conidia from phialides were sometimes observed.
... Our meteorological analysis shows that small precipitating fog and rainfall events of 1–2 mm that could wet the substrates in the same manner as our wetting experiments occur on average every 6–7 days, making these small moisture inputs a regular source of usable moisture for [64]; Endophyte [64,68,70] Desert [62,64,69]; Temperate & tropical [64,68,71] Hypocreales, Nectriaceae Saprophyte: soil [38,40,41,72,73]; Endophyte [74,75]; Plant pathogen [76] Desert [40,41,56,72,777879; Temperate & tropical [75,76] Fusarium thapsinum Klittich, J. F. Leslie, P. E. Nelson & Marasas KJ116 KP941083 KP941097 25 10–35 5.0 64 Endophyte [80,81]; Plant pathogen [43,56] Desert [56,80]; Temperate [43] Saprophyte: soil [73,77]; plant litter[45,67] Endophyte [82]; Plant pathogen [56,67,76] Desert [34,41,47,53,56,78,79,83]; Cosmopolitan [67,77] Thermal growth characteristics and previously known nutritional mode and habitat of fungi genotyped from standing S. sabulicola litter collected at Nara Valley and Station Dune in the Namib Sand Sea where fog is a frequent occurrence. KJCC Strain no. ...
The hyper-arid western Namib Sand Sea (mean annual rainfall 0–17 mm) is a detritus-based ecosystem in which primary production is driven by large, but infrequent rainfall events. A diverse Namib detritivore community is sustained by minimal moisture inputs from rain and fog. The decomposition of plant material in the Namib Sand Sea (NSS) has long been assumed to be the province of these detritivores, with beetles and termites alone accounting for the majority of litter losses. We have found that a mesophilic Ascomycete community, which responds within minutes to moisture availability, is present on litter of the perennial Namib dune grass Stipagrostis sabulicola. Important fungal traits that allow survival and decomposition in this hyper-arid environment with intense desiccation, temperature and UV radiation stress are darkly-pigmented hyphae, a thermal range that includes the relatively low temperature experienced during fog and dew, and an ability to survive daily thermal and desiccation stress at temperatures as high as 50°C for five hours. While rainfall is very limited in this area, fog and high humidity provide regular periods (≥ 1 hour) of sufficient moisture that can wet substrates and hence allow fungal growth on average every 3 days. Furthermore, these fungi reduce the C/N ratio of the litter by a factor of two and thus detritivores, like the termite Psammotermes allocerus, favor fungal-infected litter parts. Our studies show that despite the hyper-aridity of the NSS, fungi are a key component of energy flow and biogeochemical cycling that should be accounted for in models addressing how the NSS ecosystem will respond to projected climate changes which may alter precipitation, dew and fog regimes.
... The infection is recognized as a disease associated with high mortality and ultimately a poor prognosis despite the application of surgery and antifungal therapy [16,17]. The majority of species involved are members of the order Chaetothyriales which contain the black yeasts and relatives such as Cladophialophora bantiana, Fonsecaea monophora, and R. mackenziei [6,9], however, members of the Pleosporales (Alternaria, Bipolaris, Exserohilum), Xylariales (Nodulisporium), Sordariales (Thielavia) and Botryosphaeriales (Neoscytalidium) might be concerned [7,10,17]. The present paper reports a severe case of brain infection due to R. mackenziei in a 54-year-old immunocompetent male at Iran where this infection has not been previously reported. ...
... DNA was extracted from obtained materials by using an Ultra Clean microbial DNA isolation kit (MO BIO, Carlsbad, CA) according to the manufacturer's instructions and PCR amplification and sequencing were carried out as previously described [7]. Briefly, the universal fungal primer pairs ITS1 (5-TCCGTAGGTGAACCTGCGG-3) and ITS4 (5-TCCTCCGCTT-ATTGATATGC-3) were used for amplification of internal Amplicons were purified using GFX PCR DNA and a gel band purification kit (GE Healthcare, Ltd., Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom). ...
Black yeast-like fungi and relatives as agents of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis are often encountered in human fatal brain abscesses and lead to almost 100% mortality despite the application of antifungal and surgical therapy. We report to our knowledge the first case of brain infection due to Rhinocladiella mackenziei in a 54-year-old immunocompetent male in Iran where R. mackenziei has not been reported previously. The initial diagnosis was brain fungal infection because of pigmented, irregular, branched, septated hyphae based on histopathological staining. The patient was treated with intravenous amphotericin B deoxycholate (0.5mg/kg/day) combined with oral itraconazole (200mg twice daily), nevertheless, his neurological function deteriorated rapidly and ultimately the patient died due to respiratory failure later two weeks. R. mackenziei was identified based on the sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA region) (KJ140287). Therefore, considerable attention for this life-threatening infection is highly recommended.
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... The genus Chaetomidium is closely related to Chaetomium (Chaetomiaceae, Sordariales), a genus with ostiolate ascomata, possessing hairs of various shapes (Hanlin 2001). Chaetomium is a large genus comprising over 300 species (Crous et al. 2004), and occurs worldwide in a variety of habitats including soil, plant debris, and wood (Badali et al. 2011). Moreover, members of the genus are increasingly recognized as being associated with human disease. ...
... Moreover, members of the genus are increasingly recognized as being associated with human disease. In 2011, Badali et al. (2011) described a fatal phaeohyphomycotic infection, and reviewed published human infections caused by Chaetomiaceae. ...
CNS infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The epidemiology of CNS infections shows striking differences in geographic regions. We reviewed the literature on clinico-epidemiological features of community-acquired CNS infections in Iran. Our review highlighted that the causes of CNS infections in Iran are diverse but information regarding the epidemiology and precise estimates of the burden of disease are lacking for most neuroinfections. Enteroviruses, S. pneumoniae, and Klebsiella species are the most commonly reported causes of viral, bacterial, and neonatal meningitis, respectively, whereas neurotuberculosis and neurobrucellosis place a huge burden. Improving the national surveillance system and implementing a nationwide data registry system for CNS infections are necessary to provide practically useful information regarding the microbial spectrum and the burden of CNS infections to suggest optimal preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies.
