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Review
. 2013;9(12):e1003743.
doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003743. Epub 2013 Dec 5.

Aspergillus fumigatus--what makes the species a ubiquitous human fungal pathogen?

Kyung J Kwon-Chung  1 , Janyce A Sugui  1
Affiliations
Review

Aspergillus fumigatus--what makes the species a ubiquitous human fungal pathogen?

Kyung J Kwon-Chung et al. PLoS Pathog. 2013.
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Aspergillus fumigatus ascospores.
A) SEM image of an ascospore produced by mating between two compatible strains. Courtesy of Bryan Hansen. B) TEM image of an ascospore cross-section showing an unusually thick wall (white bar) composed of an electron-dense inner wall covered by a thick outer wall. Courtesy of Mones Abu-Asab. C) DIC image of germinating ascospores (white arrows) and dead conidia (black arrow) after 30 min incubation at 70°C.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Dispersibility of A. fumigatus conidia.
A) A cloud of aerosol released in the air after turning of a compost pile located in Maryland, USA. B) A malt extract agar plate exposed to the air for a minute at the site and incubated for a few days at 37°C grew predominantly A. fumigatus colonies (both pictures were taken by the late Dr. Chester Emmons). C) Eight small sterile agar plates of Aspergillus minimal medium were placed around a seven-day-old culture of A. fumigatus strain B-5233 (center) in a class 2 biosafety cabinet. In the absence of air flow the lids of all the plates were removed for 24 h. The small plates were then incubated for three days at 37°C. D) The same procedure as in C except that the small plates were exposed to the culture of a ten-day-old A. nidulans strain RYC13B (center). A. fumigatus conidia dispersed to the surrounding small agar plates while none was evident for the A. nidulans strain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Dagenais TR, Keller NP (2009) Pathogenesis of Aspergillus fumigatus in invasive aspergillosis. Clin Microbiol Rev 22: 447–465. - PMC - PubMed

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