The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature

The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature was agreed at an international symposium convened in Amsterdam on 19–20 April 2011 under the auspices of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF). The purpose of the symposium was to address the issue of whether or how the current system of naming pleomorphic fungi should be maintained or changed now that molecular data are routinely available. The issue is urgent as mycologists currently follow different practices, and no consensus was achieved by a Special Committee appointed in 2005 by the International Botanical Congress to advise on the problem. The Declaration recognizes the need for an orderly transitition to a single-name nomenclatural system for all fungi, and to provide mechanisms to protect names that otherwise then become endangered. That is, meaning that priority should be given to the first described name, except where that is a younger name in general use when the first author to select a name of a pleomorphic monophyletic genus is to be followed, and suggests controversial cases are referred to a body, such as the ICTF, which will report to the Committee for Fungi. If appropriate, the ICTF could be mandated to promote the implementation of the Declaration. In addition, but not forming part of the Declaration, are reports of discussions held during the symposium on the governance of the nomenclature of fungi, and the naming of fungi known only from an environmental nucleic acid sequence in particular. Possible amendments to the Draft BioCode (2011) to allow for the needs of mycologists are suggested for further consideration, and a possible example of how a fungus only known from the environment might be described is presented

Detection of aerial microfungus flora potential opportunist infection agent, in the intensive care unit of the chest disease department of a hospital in izmir

The biodiversity and concentrations of different genera of indoor airborne fungi, a potential opportunist infection factor, in the respiratory intensive care unit of the pulmonary diseases department, medical faculty of Ege University, were investigated. To accomplish the purpose, air samples were collected at 4 different points of intensive care unit for 10 days with a Merck MAS 100 air sampler. After identification of isolates obtained from 566 microfungal colonies counted, 12 different species belonging to 8 genera were determined (Aspergillus, Pénicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Fusarium, and Trichodermd). In this study, aimed to emphasize the importance of monitoring the presence of airborne fungal flora, particularly Aspergillus spp, in the departments of a hospital where patients of high-risk groups were hospitalized, we could not isolate A.fumigatus, an opportunist pathogen. by psp

Airborne microfungus flora determined in the different units of the department of Tulay Aktas Oncology Hospital, Ege University

Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of nosocomial fungal infections. Especially with the increase in the number of immunosuppressed patients, rare fungal pathogens which were difficult to detect in the past are now frequently isolated. In this study, the level of endogenous airborne fungal concentrations and the types of fungi were determined at Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Tulay Aktas Oncology Hospital. For this purpose, air samples were collected at 34 different locations monthly during six months with the Merck MAS 100 air sampler. As a result, a total of 5590 fungal colonies in 204 petri dishes were counted. Thirty-two fungal species belonging to 10 genera were identified. The most prevalent genera were the common moulds; Aspergillus (3.91±1.01), Penicillium (16.08±3.10), Cladosporium (40.82±4.15) and Altemaria (7.51±1.82). The results revealed that the most common genus was Cladosporium. Fungal concentration levels in different parts of the stem cell transplantation department ranged from 0 to 340 cfu/m3. In other units of the hospital, fungal load was found to be between 0 and 45600 cfu/m3. When the fungal density of the stem cell transplantation department and that of the other units were compared, fungal density of the stem cell transplantation department was found to be significantly lower (p = 0.000 <0.05). The highest values in our study were determined during the 5th month of this study, because natural gas pipelines were installed around the hospital in this month. In this study, we aimed to emphasize the importance of monitoring the presence of airborne fungal flora, particularly Aspergillus spp, in the departments of a hospital where patients of high-risk groups are hospitalized

Molecular typing of Candida albicans strains isolated from denture wearers by repetitive sequence-based PCR

WOS: 000286333700002PubMed ID: 20878533Long-term use of prosthesis is the most important risk factor for the colonization of Candida species on the mucosal surfaces, which can lead to the development of denture-related stomatitis (DRS). Some individuals wearing prosthesis develop DRS and others do not. C. albicans strains isolated from both groups were genotypically compared. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the strain causing prosthesis stomatitis was different from the other strains genotypically. The study included 90 individuals wearing different prostheses and 20 control individuals with natural teeth. In the study 109 C. albicans strains were used which were isolated from the saliva samples and the mucosal surfaces of the tongues and palates of 51 individuals and then defined phenotypically. Phenotypic diagnosis of the isolates was genotypically verified by using species-specific PCR. For molecular typing, repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR) was employed. The results of the study revealed that REP-PCR had the capability to separate 109 C. albicans strains and six reference strains into 44 genotypes. Whereas C. albicans strains showed heterogenic distribution, C. albicans strains isolated from the individuals suffering from prosthesis stomatitis showed no specific genotypes. REP-PCR is a simple, fast and low-cost method and helped work on a great number of samples

Air-borne microfungus flora determined in the different units of the Department of Internal Diseases, Ege University Hospital

In the Medical Faculty of Ege University, indoor airborne fungal concentrations and the types of fungi have been determined in the two parts and the intensive care unit where patients who are admitted to the Department of Internal diseases, Department of Endocrinology, Department of Hematology, Department of Immunology, Department of Nephrology, Department of Rheumatology, Department of Oncology, Department of Gastroenterology and Department of Geriatrics, are treated. For this purpose, air samples were collected in 19 different locations, each month for 6 months, with the Merck MAS 100. Upon the identification of isolates obtained from 3,167 microfungus colonies counted, 43 different species belonging to 13 genera were determined. Of them, the most frequent genera were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Alternaria. Concentrations of air-borne fungi in several wards of the intensive care unit ranged between 120 and 2,100 cfu/m3. In another part of wards, fungal load was found to be between 20 and 2,280 cfu/m3. When the fungal loads in the intensive care unit and in the other units were compared, no significant difference was found (P = 0.266&gt; 0.05). According to the descriptive statistics kept in April, May and June, there was a large increase in maximum values compared to the other months

Determining candida spp. incidence in denture wearers

PubMed ID: 20143193The aim of this study was to determine Candida spp. incidence in the oral cavity of denture wearers and characterize predisposing factors in denture-related stomatitis (DRS). Three groups of denture wearers and a control group were evaluated for DRS according to Newton's classification. The amount of yeast in saliva and the presence of yeast on mucosal surfaces were determined by phenotyping methods, and the impact of some risk factors on candidal carriage was evaluated. The development of DRS is most common in complete prosthesis users. When the count of yeast in saliva is ?400 cfu/ml, the frequency of DRS is increased. In individuals who develop DRS, the most frequently encountered species that was identified as C. albicans. Prosthetic hygiene was related to the intensity of candidal growth and the development of DRS. C. albicans live as saprophyte in the oral cavity. But, it is capable of causing infection if there are predisposing conditions related to the host. Usage of removable prosthesis may cause these microorganisms to gain pathogenicity. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V