RT Journal Article
T1 Presence of Aspergillus fumigatus with the TR34/L98H Cyp51A mutation and other azole-resistant aspergilli in the air of a zoological park
A1 Álvarez Pérez, Sergio
A1 García Sánchez, Marta Eulalia
A1 Martínez Nevado, Eva
A1 Blanco Cancelo, José Luis
AB Antifungal-resistant fungi, including Aspergillus fumigatus and other Aspergillus species, pose an urgent threat to human and animal health. Furthermore, the environmental route of azole resistance selection due to the widespread use of azole fungicides in crop protection and other applications is a major public health issue. Although environmental surveillance of fungi is frequently performed in many zoological parks and wildlife rehabilitation centers, the antifungal susceptibility of recovered isolates is only rarely analyzed, which precludes a clear assessment of the threat posed by these fungi to captive animals. In this study, we assessed the presence of airborne azole-resistant Aspergillus spp., including the so-called ‘cryptic species’ (i.e., species which are phenotypically similar to more well-known aspergilli but clearly constitute different phylogenetic lineages) in a zoological park located in the city of Madrid, Spain. In general, our results revealed a low prevalence A. fumigatus and cryptic aspergilli with decreased susceptibility to azoles. However, we detected an A. fumigatus isolate with the TR34/L98H mutation in the gene encoding the lanosterol 14α-demethylase (Cyp51A), consisting of a tandem repeat of 34 base pairs in the promoter region and a lysine to histidine substitution at codon 98. Notably, this TR34/L98H mutation has been linked to the environmental route of azole resistance selection, thus highlighting the ‘One Health’ dimension of the emerging problem of antifungal resistance. In this context, continuous environmental surveillance of azole-resistant aspergilli in zoological parks and other similar animal facilities is recommended.
PB Elsevier
SN 0034-5288
YR 2023
FD 2023-11
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/93724
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/93724
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España [ RYC2018-023847-I]
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025