In vivo pathogenicity characterization of viable opportunistic fungi Aspergillus thermomutatus and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa recovered from maritime Antarctic permafrost

Gomes, Eldon Carlos Queres; Gonçalves, Vívian Nicolau; da Costa, Marliete Carvalho; de Freitas, José Cota; Santos, Daniel Assis; Johann, Susana; Oliveira, Jefferson Bruno Soares; da Paixão, Tatiane Alves; Convey, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8497-9903; Rosa, Luiz Henrique. 2025 In vivo pathogenicity characterization of viable opportunistic fungi Aspergillus thermomutatus and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa recovered from maritime Antarctic permafrost. Environment & Health. 7, pp. 10.1021/envhealth.4c00213

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Official URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/envhealth.4c...

Abstract/Summary

In this study, we evaluated the pathogenic potential of the fungi Aspergillus thermomutatus and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa obtained from maritime Antarctic permafrost using in vivo experiments on immunocompromised BALB/c mice. Despite the low mortality observed, immunosuppressed animals infected with A. thermomutatus and R. mucilaginosa exhibited fluctuations in body mass and induced changes in the neuropsychiatric state of the mice. Fungi were recovered from the lungs, spleen, blood, and brain of infected mice at densities similar to but slightly lower than the inoculum up to 5 days post-inoculation. A. thermomutatus infection induced an inflammatory process in the lungs of infected BALB/c mice. In the target organs of animals infected with R. mucilaginosa, a notable fungal load was detected in the brains of infected animals. These results suggest that viable isolates of fungi such as A. thermomutatus and R. mucilaginosa originating from Antarctic permafrost, which is exposed to increasing melt caused by rising temperatures in the region, may present significant pathogenic potential. This highlights that climate change in Antarctica may facilitate the release and dispersal of fungi and other pathogenic microorganisms capable of infecting humans and animals.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1021/envhealth.4c00213
ISSN:	2833-8278
Additional Keywords:	Antarctica, climate change, extremophiles, fungi, virulence
Date made live:	07 Feb 2025 10:33 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537464

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1021/envhealth.4c00213

ISSN:

2833-8278

Additional Keywords:

Antarctica, climate change, extremophiles, fungi, virulence

Date made live:

07 Feb 2025 10:33 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537464