TY - JOUR
T1 - Growth conditions influence melanization of Brazilian clinical Sporothrix schenckii isolates
AU - Almeida-Paes, Rodrigo
AU - Frases, Susana
AU - Fialho Monteiro, Paulo Cezar
AU - Gutierrez-Galhardo, Maria Clara
AU - Zancopé-Oliveira, Rosely Maria
AU - Nosanchuk, Joshua D.
N1 - Funding Information:
R. A. P. was supported by an Interhemispheric Research Training Grant in Infectious Diseases, Fogarty International Center (NIH D43-TW007129). J. D. N. is supported in part by NIH AI52733 and AI056070-01A2, and the Center for AIDS Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center (NIH AI-51519). R. M. Z. O. is in part supported by CNPq 306288/2006-0 and FAPERJ E26/111.619/2008. We thank Gary Gerfen for assistance with EPR experiments and Michael Ferustein for his collaboration with the culture experiments.
PY - 2009/4
Y1 - 2009/4
N2 - Sporothrix schenckii is known to produce DHN melanin on both conidial and yeast cells, however little information is available regarding the factors inducing fungal melanization. We evaluated whether culture conditions influenced melanization of 25 Brazilian S. schenckii strains and one control strain (ATCC 10212). Tested conditions included different media, pH, temperature, incubation time, glucose concentrations, and presence or absence of tricyclazole or L-DOPA. Melanization was reduced on Sabouraud compared to defined chemical medium. The majority of strains produced small amounts of melanin at 37 °C and none melanized at basic pH. Increased glucose concentrations did not inhibit melanization, rather increasing glucose enhanced pigment production in 27% of strains. Melanin synthesis was also enhanced by the addition of L-DOPA and its addition to medium with tricyclazole, an inhibitor of melanin synthesis, resulted in fungal melanization, including hyphal melanin production. Our results suggest that different S. schenckii strains have distinct control of melanization and that this fungus can use phenolic compounds to enhance melanization in vitro.
AB - Sporothrix schenckii is known to produce DHN melanin on both conidial and yeast cells, however little information is available regarding the factors inducing fungal melanization. We evaluated whether culture conditions influenced melanization of 25 Brazilian S. schenckii strains and one control strain (ATCC 10212). Tested conditions included different media, pH, temperature, incubation time, glucose concentrations, and presence or absence of tricyclazole or L-DOPA. Melanization was reduced on Sabouraud compared to defined chemical medium. The majority of strains produced small amounts of melanin at 37 °C and none melanized at basic pH. Increased glucose concentrations did not inhibit melanization, rather increasing glucose enhanced pigment production in 27% of strains. Melanin synthesis was also enhanced by the addition of L-DOPA and its addition to medium with tricyclazole, an inhibitor of melanin synthesis, resulted in fungal melanization, including hyphal melanin production. Our results suggest that different S. schenckii strains have distinct control of melanization and that this fungus can use phenolic compounds to enhance melanization in vitro.
KW - Culture conditions
KW - Melanin
KW - Sporothrix schenckii
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U2 - 10.1016/j.micinf.2009.03.002
DO - 10.1016/j.micinf.2009.03.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 19328867
AN - SCOPUS:67349185406
SN - 1286-4579
VL - 11
SP - 554
EP - 562
JO - Microbes and Infection
JF - Microbes and Infection
IS - 5
ER -