Evaluation of two methods for direct detection of Fusarium spp. in water

Author(s)

Graca, Mariana G. ^{[1, 2]} ; van der Heijden, Inneke M. ^[3] ; Perdigao, Lauro ^{[1, 2]} ; Taira, Cleison ^{[4, 5]} ; Costa, Silvia F. ^{[1, 2]} ; Levin, Anna S. ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Infect Dis, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Trop Med, LIM 54, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fac Med ABC, Dept Pathol, Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Lab Pathogen Dimorph Fungi, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Med Invest 53, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Microbiological Methods; v. 123, p. 39-43, APR 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 4

Abstract

Fusarium is a waterborne fungus that causes severe infections especially in patients with prolonged neutropenia. Traditionally, the detection of Fusarium in water is done by culturing which is difficult and time consuming. A faster method is necessary to prevent exposure of susceptible patients to contaminated water. The objective of this study was to develop a molecular technique for direct detection of Fusarium in water. A direct DNA extraction method from water was developed and coupled to a genus-specific PCR, to detect 3 species of Fusarium (verticillioides, oxysporum and solani). The detection limits were 10 cells/L and 1 cell/L for the molecular and culture methods, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first method developed to detect Fusarium directly from water. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/02596-5 - Evaluation of 2 methods to detect Fusarium directly from water
• Grantee: Anna Sara Shafferman Levin
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants