Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
1.9
2.1
Journals
Microbiology Research
Special Issues
Antifungal Agents: Treatment for Indoor Mold Exposure
share announcement

Antifungal Agents: Treatment for Indoor Mold Exposure

A special issue of Microbiology Research (ISSN 2036-7481).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 9987

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Andrew W. Campbell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
MyMycoLab, Land O' Lakes, FL, USA
Interests: mycotoxins; neurotoxicity from mycotoxins; mast cell activation from mycotoxins; inflammation from molds/mycotoxins; mycotoxicosis; mycotoxin antibodies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change has affected the entire planet. Unexpected weather is becoming more common on all continents, and news of floodings, heavy rains, hurricanes, and other weather disasters is more frequent. The danger lies not only in the immediate catastrophes, but also in the health hazards from mold-infested homes, schools, businesses, and public buildings. Mycoses have increased substantially over the last four decades as a result of the AIDS pandemic and the advent of chemotherapy, transplantation, immunosuppression, access to the vascular system, as well as climate change. Occupants of affected structures develop multiple-organ symptoms and have adverse effects in the upper and lower respiratory system, central and peripheral nervous system, skin, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and urinary tract, connective tissue, and the musculoskeletal system. Human illness caused by fungi can result from one or all of the following: (1) mycotic infections (mycoses), (2) fungal rhino-sinusitis, (3) IgE-mediated sensitivity and asthma, (4) hypersensitivity pneumonitis and related inflammatory pulmonary diseases, (5) cytotoxicity, (6) immune suppression/modulation, (7) mitochondrial toxicity, (8) carcinogenicity, (9) nephrotoxicity, (10) the formation of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA adducts. Finally, in the infectious state, molds secrete extracellular digestive enzymes (EDEs) that cause tissue destruction, angioinvasion, thrombosis, infarction and other manifestations of mycosis.

In this Special Issue, the journal will address various treatment methods for diseases and disorders related to indoor mold exposure. We invite you to contribute by submitting original research articles, comprehensive reviews, case series or case reports, comparative analyses, observational studies, and cohort studies.

Dr. Andrew W. Campbell
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microbiology Research is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

26 pages, 4642 KiB  
Article
Novel Bioformulations with Trichoderma lixii to Improve the Growth Dynamics and Biocontrol of the Cowpea Damping-Off Disease
by Alaa El-Dein Omara and Fatma M. El-maghraby
Microbiol. Res. 2023, 14(4), 2041-2066; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14040138 - 4 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1804
Abstract
Because agricultural wastes are abundant in biologically active substances, they can be used as a substitute source to produce highly valuable products while lowering pollution levels in the environment. Therefore, we aimed at determining the best agricultural wastes to increase the biomass production [...] Read more.
Because agricultural wastes are abundant in biologically active substances, they can be used as a substitute source to produce highly valuable products while lowering pollution levels in the environment. Therefore, we aimed at determining the best agricultural wastes to increase the biomass production rate and the effectiveness of the biocontrol strain Trichoderma lixii SARS 111 in a solid-state fermentation system. The potential for its use in enhancing growth dynamics and controlling the Fusarium oxysporum NCAIM-F-00779-caused damping-off disease of cowpea plants grown in greenhouse conditions was also studied. Using a one-factor-at-a-time experiment, five cheap agricultural waste substrates (faba bean, cowpea, sweet potato, pumpkin, and cassava) were studied using the Plackett–Burman design (PBD) and the central composite design (CCD) to optimize the nutritional and growth conditions to maximize the production of Trichoderma conidia. The findings demonstrated that increasing Candida production quantitatively required the use of 3 g of sweet potato, 3 g of cassava, pH 6, 25 °C, and pre-treatment with dH2O. The shelf life and viability of T. lixii strain were measured as log10 CFU g−1 per substrate at room temperature (RT, 25 °C) at the beginning of month 0 and subsequently at 2-month intervals for 12 months. Data showed that the fungal counts increased with the use of 4 g of sweet potato + 2 g of cassava up to 7 months and then sharply decreased, lasting up to 12 months. Additionally, this bioformulation was applied to cowpea plants in a greenhouse experiment, where a significantly higher level of plant growth traits, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzymes, and chemical content in the leaves, as well as lower incidence of the damping-off disease, were noted. Accordingly, it is possible to suggest 4 g of sweet potato and 2 g of cassava as a suitable bioformulation for the industrial-scale production of the T. lixii strain, which may be a potential biocontrol agent for preventing the cowpea damping-off disease caused by F. oxysporum and improving the growth dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antifungal Agents: Treatment for Indoor Mold Exposure)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 7353 KiB  
Article
Semi-VOCs of Wood Vinegar Display Strong Antifungal Activities against Oomycete Species Globisporangium ultimum and Pythium aphanidermatum
by Ali Chenari Bouket, Abolfazl Narmani, Kasra Sharifi, Shahram Naeimi, Mohammad Reza Afshar Mogaddam, Ali Asghar Hamidi, Lenka Luptakova, Faizah N. Alenezi and Lassaad Belbahri
Microbiol. Res. 2023, 14(1), 371-389; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14010029 - 13 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3274
Abstract
Plant disease outbreaks are increasingly exacerbated by climate change and the conditions of stress combinations. They are negatively affecting crop yield and driving threats to food security in many areas of the world. Although synthetic pesticides offer relative success in the control of [...] Read more.
Plant disease outbreaks are increasingly exacerbated by climate change and the conditions of stress combinations. They are negatively affecting crop yield and driving threats to food security in many areas of the world. Although synthetic pesticides offer relative success in the control of pests and plant diseases, they are often overused, and this method faces numerous drawbacks, including environmental toxicity, soil degradation, and adverse effects on human health. Therefore, alternatives are being developed and examined, including the biocontrol of pests and pathogens and biomass pyrolysis leading to wood vinegar that has shown great promise in agriculture and organic farming. However, while wood vinegar use is expanding and allows the control of numerous pests and bacterial and fungal diseases, its application to control oomycete diseases is limited. This study aimed to test wood vinegar for the control of oomycete plant pathogens from which six wood vinegars of pistachio, pomegranate, almond, pine, cypress, and walnut were produced. The inhibitory effects of volatile metabolites (semi-VOCs) of different wood vinegars concentrations (100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, and 6.25%) were examined against the hyphal growth of Globisporangium ultimum and Pythium aphanidermatum isolates. An in vitro analysis unambiguously demonstrated that for Globisporangium ultimum, the wood vinegar semi-VOCs of almond, pistachio (C 100% and 50%), and walnut (C 100%) totally inhibited mycelial growth. On the other hand, Pythium aphanidermatum, pistachio (C 100%, 50%, and 25%), and cypress (C 100%) expressed their abilities to completely inhibit the mycelial growth. Other treatments, including relevant concentrations of pine and pomegranate significantly inhibited the growth of mycelia of both species compared to the control (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, wood vinegar could be considered a natural and organic product to use in agriculture to cope not only against pests, bacterial and fungal pests but also against emerging oomycete plant diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antifungal Agents: Treatment for Indoor Mold Exposure)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 784 KiB  
Review
Biocontrol Efficiency of Rhizospheric Bacillus against the Plant Pathogen Fusarium oxysporum: A Promising Approach for Sustainable Agriculture
by Sarah Boulahouat, Hafsa Cherif-Silini, Allaoua Silini, Ali Chenari Bouket, Lenka Luptakova, Faizah N. Alenezi and Lassaad Belbahri
Microbiol. Res. 2023, 14(3), 892-908; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14030062 - 13 Jul 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3854
Abstract
Among plant disease management strategies, biological control is a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals for the control of vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Fusarium wilt is the most devastating disease affecting a wide variety of plants. Bacillus species are the [...] Read more.
Among plant disease management strategies, biological control is a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals for the control of vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Fusarium wilt is the most devastating disease affecting a wide variety of plants. Bacillus species are the most widely used biological control candidates for the control of these fungal diseases. This review describes the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum, its virulence mechanisms, and host plant–pathogen interactions. The control means deployed by Bacillus species inhibit or kill these phytopathogens. Bacillus spp. produce a wide range of secondary metabolites, including volatile and non-volatile organic compounds. Biocontrol potential is achieved through direct antimicrobial activity, the induction of the host plant’s immune response (Induced Systemic Resistance), and competition for nutrients and space. In addition, parameters governing the selection of effective biocontrol agents and their survival in plant microbial communities are discussed. The influence of the microbiota on the establishment and development of biocontrol agents can assess the potential of these treatments and facilitate the development of effective biopesticides during their field application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antifungal Agents: Treatment for Indoor Mold Exposure)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop