Candida dubliniensis candidemia in patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and bone marrow transplantation.

The recently described species Candida dubliniensis has been recovered primarily from superficial oral candidiasis in HIV-infected patients. No clinically documented invasive infections were reported until now in this patient group or in other immunocompromised patients. We report three cases of candidemia due to this newly emerging Candida species in HIV-negative patients with chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression and bone marrow transplantation

Niche-specific regulation of central metabolic pathways in a fungal pathogen

To establish an infection, the pathogen Candida albicans must assimilate carbon and grow in its mammalian host. This fungus assimilates six-carbon compounds via the glycolytic pathway, and two-carbon compounds via the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis. We address a paradox regarding the roles of these central metabolic pathways in C. albicans pathogenesis: the glyoxylate cycle is apparently required for virulence although glyoxylate cycle genes are repressed by glucose at concentrations present in the bloodstream. Using GFP fusions, we confirm that glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenic genes in C. albicans are repressed by physiologically relevant concentrations of glucose, and show that these genes are inactive in the majority of fungal cells infecting the mouse kidney. However, these pathways are induced following phagocytosis by macrophages or neutrophils. In contrast, glycolytic genes are not induced following phagocytosis and are expressed in infected kidney. Mutations in all three pathways attenuate the virulence of this fungus, highlighting the importance of central carbon metabolism for the establishment of C. albicans infections. We conclude that C. albicans displays a metabolic program whereby the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis are activated early, when the pathogen is phagocytosed by host cells, while the subsequent progression of systemic disease is dependent upon glycolysis

WiseEye: next generation expandable and programmable camera trap platform for wildlife research

Funding: The work was supported by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1. The work of S. Newey and RJI was part funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS). Details published as an Open Source Toolkit, PLOS Journals at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169758Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Status, trends and future dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystems underpinning nature's contributions to people

Biodiversity at the species and ecosystem levels is currently under multiple threats almost everywhere in the Asia-Pacific region, and in many areas the situation is now critical (well established). Of the various ecosystems, lowland evergreen forests, alpine ecosystems, limestone karsts, inland wetlands, and estuarine and coastal habitats are most threatened (well established). Genetic diversity within species, both wild and domestic, is also decreasing in many cases as a result of decreasing ranges (established but incomplete). In several countries there has been a small increase in the forest cover which is mostly attributed to monoculture forestry plantations and enabling policies of the governments. Forest fires associated with rapid loss of forest cover is leading to enormous environmental and socio-economic loss (well established) {3.2.1; 3.2.2; 3.2.3; 3.2.4; 3.2.5; 3.3.1}. There has been a steady decline in the populations of large vertebrates due to poaching and illegal trade in wildlife parts and products in the Asia-Pacific region (well established). As a result, most of these species now survive only in the best-managed protected areas (well established). Widespread loss of large vertebrates has had a measureable impact on several forest functions and services, including seed dispersal (established but incomplete). Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction (>10 per cent) of any continent globally. Bird extinctions on individual Pacific islands range from 15.4 per cent to 87.5 per cent for those with good fossil records, and these extinctions have resulted in the loss of many ecological functions previously performed by birds (well established). Besides wildlife, there is a massive regional trade in timber, traditional medicines and other products (well established). Without adequate protection, remediation and proper policies, the current decline in biodiversity and nature's contributions to people on land, in freshwaters, and in the sea will threaten the quality of life of future generations in the Asia-Pacific region {3.2.1.1; 3.2.1.2; 3.2.1.4; 3.2.1.7; 3.2.2.1; 3.3.1} With the current rate of human population growth, expansion of urban industrial environments, transformation of agriculture in favour of high yielding varieties, transforming forests to uniform plantations of oil palm, rubber or timber trees, the biodiversity and nature's contributions to people in the Asia-Pacific region are likely to be adversely affected in the coming decades (well established). It is predicted that most of the biodiversity in the next few decades may be confined to protected areas or in places where the local communities have taken the lead in local level conservation in lieu of economic incentives and equitable compensation by the stake-holders. Unprecedented increase in human population of the Asia-Pacific region has stressed the fragile ecosystems to their limits; while arable cropping has been extended to sites which were not entirely suitable for it, resulting in soil degradation and erosion (well established) {3.2.1.1; 3.2.1.2; 3.2.1.5; 3.2.2.2; 3.2.2.4; 3.3; 3.3.1; 3.3.6; 3.4}. Freshwater ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific region support more than 28 per cent of aquatic and semi-aquatic species but nearly 37 per cent of these species are threatened due to anthropogenic and climatic drivers (well established). Cumulative impacts of global warming and damming of rivers in some of the river basins will have significant negative impacts on fish production and environmental flows (well established). Likewise, degradation of wetlands has had severe negative impacts on migratory waterfowl, fish production and local livelihoods (well established). However, there are scientific data gaps on the current status of biodiversity and nature's contributions to people in most of the river basins, inland wetlands and peatlands of the region {3.2.2.1; 3.2.2.2; 3.2.2.3; 3.2.2.4}. Coastal and marine habitats are likewise threatened due to commercial aquaculture, overfishing, and pollution affecting biodiversity and nature's contributions to people (well established). Detailed analyses of fisheries production in the region have shown severe decline in recent decades. It is projected that if unsustainable fishing practices continue, there could be no exploitable stocks of fish by as early as 2048. This could lead to trophic cascades and collapse of marine ecosystems (established but incomplete). Loss of seagrass beds which forms main diet of several threatened species such as dugong is a major concern (well established). There is a need to conduct systematic and region-wide assessment of fisheries stocks and coastal habitat in the region to aid conservation, management and restoration. {3.1.3.1; 3.2.3.3; 3.2.3.6; 3.2.4.6; 3.4}. Mangrove ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific region are most diverse in the world. They support a rich biodiversity and provide a range of provisioning, regulating and supporting services, which are crucial for the livelihood of local communities (well established). Both mangrove and intertidal habitats form a buffer from siltation for offshore coral reefs protection hence affecting productivity of reefs including seagrass. However, up to 75 per cent of the mangroves have been degraded or converted in recent decades (well established). The conversion of mangroves to aquaculture, rice, oil palm, and other land-use changes is leading to the loss of the buffer between sea and land which can reduce the impact of natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis. It is projected that rise in sea level due to global warming would pose the biggest threat to mangroves, thereby affecting nature's contributions to people especially in Bangladesh, Philippines, New Zealand, Viet Nam and China (well established) {3.2.3.1; 3.2.3.2; 3.3.4}. There has been a steady increase in the number, abundance and impacts of invasive alien species in the Asia-Pacific region, negatively affecting native biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and socio-cultural environments (well established). The total annual loss caused by invasive alien species has been estimated at US$35.5 billion in SE Asia and US$9B in Australia. Costs to agriculture due to invasive alien species are likewise immense in the region {3.2.1.1; 3.2.1.2; 3.2.1.4; 3.2.1.5; 3.2.1.6; 3.2.1.7; 3.2.2.1; 3.2.2.2; 3.2.2.3; 3.2.3.6; 3.3.5}. There has been a nearly 30 per cent decline in biocultural diversity in the Asia-Pacific region since the 1970s (well established). Decline of linguistic diversity has been catastrophic in the indigenous Australian and Trans-New Guinean families, as a result of a shifting away from small indigenous languages towards larger, national or regional languages (well established). Linguistic and biological diversity often coincide in the Asia-Pacific region and parallel strategies need to be developed for their conservation. National conservation priorities should take into consideration the bioculturally rich areas that are facing great threats {3.2.5; 3.2.5.2; 3.2.5.4; 3.4}. Protected Area coverage in the Asia-Pacific region has increased substantially since last three decades. Despite this progress, however, at least 75 per cent of Key Biodiversity Areas remain unprotected, suggesting that the region is not on track to conserve areas of particular importance for biodiversity, as called for under Aichi Target 11 (well established). Oceania has the highest overall Protected Area coverage in the region. North-East Asia has the highest proportion of Key Biodiversity Areas covered by Protected Areas, but only 1 per cent of its marine area is protected (well established) {3.2.5.6; 3.2.6; 3.2.6.1}. The Asia-Pacific region has high levels of endemism, and some 25 per cent of the region’s endemic species are facing high extinction risks as per the IUCN Red List. Endemic species in some subregions face an extinction risk as high as 46 per cent of endemic species threatened in South Asia (well established). South-East Asia has the greatest number of threatened species and the fastest increases in extinction risk (Red List Index) in the Asia-Pacific region. North Asian endemic species extinction risk is also higher than the regional average; the high percentage of Data Deficient species (36 per cent) indicates that more research and conservation action are needed for endemic species in this subregion (well established) {3.2.1; 3.2.2; 3.2.6.2; 3.3.4}. Some aspects of biodiversity have recently started to recover in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region (established but incomplete). This recovery has resulted from various changes, including population concentration in cities, increased agricultural production per unit area, increasing conservation awareness among citizens, and the enabling policies of the governments. Future trends of biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific region will largely depend on whether other countries will follow this recovering trajectory by stabilizing land/sea use change, manage their natural resources sustainably, and cooperating with each other in meeting the Aichi Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals {3.2.1.5; 3.2.3.5; 3.3.1; 3.3.3; 3.3.6}. Given that the scientific information on the status and trends of biodiversity and nature's contributions to people is not available uniformly across all ecosystems and habitats in the region, the national governments are encouraged to initiate systematic documentation and monitoring of health of ecosystems and ecosystem flows (established but incomplete). Saving terrestrial fauna especially big mammals and other fauna that require large roaming areas such as Orangutans, proboscis monkey, hornbills, tigers, Sumatran rhinoceros, gaurs and Asian elephants can be done by connecting large tracts of forests with wildlife corridors or through rehabilitation projects; the same goes for coastal and marine, freshwater and other ecosystems in the region {3.2.1.1; 3.2.2.4; 3.3.4; 3.4}

Candida bracarensis: Evaluation of virulence factors and its tolerance to Amphotericin B and Fluconazole

Candida bracarensis is an uncommon Candida species found during an epidemiological study of candidiasis performed in Braga, Portugal. Initially, it was identified as C. glabrata, but recently detailed analyses pointed out their differences. So, little information is still available about C. bracarensis virulence factors and antifungal susceptibilities. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of C. bracarensis to form biofilms, to produce hydrolytic enzymes (proteases, phospholipases and hemolysins), as well as its susceptibility to amphotericin B and fluconazole. It was shown, for the first time, that all C. bracarensis strains were able to form biofilms and display proteinase and hemolytic activities. Moreover, although planktonic cells presented antifungal susceptibility, amphotericin B and fluconazole were unable to inhibit biofilm formation and eradicate pre-formed biofilms. Due to the propensity of C. bracarensis to display antifungal resistance and virulence attributes, the control of these emerging pathogens is recommended.This work was supported by the projects PTDC/SAU-MIC/119069/2010, PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal and ‘‘BioHealth—Biotechnology and Bioengineering approaches to improve health quality’’, Ref. NORTE-07-0124FEDER-000027, co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER. The authors also acknowledge the project ‘‘Consolidating Research Expertise and Resources on Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology at CEB/IBB’’, Ref. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER027462

Candida dubliniensis: An Appraisal of Its Clinical Significance as a Bloodstream Pathogen

A nine-year prospective study (2002–2010) on the prevalence of Candida dubliniensis among Candida bloodstream isolates is presented. The germ tube positive isolates were provisionally identified as C. dubliniensis by presence of fringed and rough colonies on sunflower seed agar. Subsequently, their identity was confirmed by Vitek2 Yeast identification system and/or by amplification and sequencing of the ITS region of rDNA. In all, 368 isolates were identified as C. dubliniensis; 67.1% came from respiratory specimens, 11.7% from oral swabs, 9.2% from urine, 3.8% from blood, 2.7% from vaginal swabs and 5.4% from other sources. All C. dubliniensis isolates tested by Etest were susceptible to voriconazole and amphotericin B. Resistance to fluconazole (≥8 µg/ml) was observed in 2.5% of C. dubliniensis isolates, 7 of which occurred between 2008–2010. Of note was the diagnosis of C. dubliniensis candidemia in 14 patients, 11 of them occurring between 2008–2010. None of the bloodstream isolate was resistant to fluconazole, while a solitary isolate showed increased MIC to 5-flucytosine (>32 µg/ml) and belonged to genotype 4. A review of literature since 1999 revealed 28 additional cases of C. dubliniensis candidemia, and 167 isolates identified from blood cultures since 1982. In conclusion, this study highlights a greater role of C. dubliniensis in bloodstream infections than hitherto recognized