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. 2017 Mar 30:7:45631.
doi: 10.1038/srep45631.

Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus harboring TR34/L98H, TR46/Y121F/T289A and TR53 mutations related to flower fields in Colombia

Carlos Alvarez-Moreno  1   2   3 , Rose-Anne Lavergne  3   4 , Ferry Hagen  5 , Florent Morio  3   4 , Jacques F Meis  5   6 , Patrice Le Pape  3   4
Affiliations

Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus harboring TR34/L98H, TR46/Y121F/T289A and TR53 mutations related to flower fields in Colombia

Carlos Alvarez-Moreno et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Resistance to triazoles in Aspergillus fumigatus has been reported in azole-naive patients in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. This resistance has been linked to fungicide-driven mutations in the cyp51A gene and its promoter region. We investigated the presence of environmental azole-resistant A. fumigatus strains related to the use of azole fungicides in Colombia. Soil samples were collected from flower beds, flower fields and public gardens from the outskirts, suburbs and city centre of Bogotá. Out of the 86 soil samples taken, 17 (19.8%) grew A. fumigatus of whom eight (9.3%) contained 40 strains able to grow on azole-containing itraconazole and/or voriconazole supplemented media. All but one triazole-resistant strains were isolated from soil samples collected from flower fields and flower beds (39/40). Importantly, the majority had the TR46/Y121F/T289A, TR34/L98H, and TR53 molecular resistance mechanisms and one azole resistant strain had a wild-type cyp51A gene. Soil samples from flower fields and beds contained 4 azole fungicides (penconazole, difenoconazole, tetraconazole and tebuconazole) above the limit of detection. Our findings underline the need for extensive investigations to determine azole-resistant A. fumigatus prevalence in both clinical and environmental samples in other regions of Latin America.

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Conflict of interest statement

P.L.P. received grants from Astellas, Basilea and Pfizer. He is a consultant to Basilea and received speaker´s fees from Gilead, Basilea, Pfizer and MSD. C.A.M. has received grants from Pfizer and received speaker´s fees from Pfizer, MSD and Roche. J.F.M. received grants from Astellas, Basilea, and Merck. He has been a consultant to Astellas, Basilea, and Merck and received speaker´s fees from Merck and Gilead. F.M. received speaker´s fees from Basilea, MSD, and travel grants from Astellas, Gilead, MSD and Pfizer. R.A.L. received travel grants from Astellas and F.H. has no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Localization of samplings: (A) outskirts, suburbs (flower fields and green houses, red triangles), which were positive to azole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus. (B) West, North and downtown areas of the city of Bogotá (public gardens, yellow triangles), which were negative, except National Park (red asterisk). Map data: Google GeoBasis-DE/BKG and Google, INEGI.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Genotypic relationship of A. fumigatus strains from environmental samples collected from the surroundings of a outskirts, suburbs and downtown areas of the city of Bogotá, Colombia (including TR46/Y121F/T289A, n = 17; TR34/L98H, n = 1;TR53, n = 2 and wild-type, n = 1) with resistant strains from the Netherlands (TR46/Y121F/T289A, 5 clinical and 1 environmental strains; TR34/L98H, 9 clinical and 5 environmental strains and one TR53 clinical strain).
The dendrogram is based on a categorical analysis of nine microsatellite markers in combination with UPGMA clustering.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structures of triazoles used in Colombian floriculture (A). Registration date of authorization for use in floriculture is provided after the name of the active product. (B) Clinical azole antifungal drugs with activity against aspergilli and to the right of the name the dates of clinical use authorization in Colombia. Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database; URL: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.govCID=86132, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/86132 (accessed Apr. 16, 2016).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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