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Differences and Similarities Amongst Pathogenic Aspergillus Species

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Aspergillosis: From Diagnosis to Prevention

Abstract

Aspergillosis is a general term that refers to diseases caused by different Aspergillus species. These species all share a similar morphological structure, i.e. long specialized hyphae (conidiophores) that are expanded at the apical end from which the asexual propagules emerge. However, there are important differences amongst Aspergillus species regarding extrolites production and the morphology of both asexual (anamorph) and sexual (teleomorph) structures. Aspergilli can cause severe invasive infections in immunocompromised patients yet rarely infect immunocompetent people. Although most cases of aspergillosis are caused by A. fumigatus, many other species – some of them recently described by the use of molecular techniques – have been implicated. In the section Fumigati, recent multilocus sequence studies have shown that different cryptic species exist and that other species previously thought to be only saprobe can also be recovered from clinical specimens. A similar conclusion has been reached through the molecular examination of other Aspergillus sections. In general, the pathogenic species of Aspergillus do not follow an identical clinical behavioral pattern. Both the significant differences in the type of infections that they cause and their response to antifungal drugs emphasise the importance of accurate identification so as to develop effective therapeutic strategies, given that nowadays different therapeutic options are available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unitat de Microbiologia, Departament de Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain

    Josep Guarro

  2. Post-graduation Program in Pulmonary Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Melissa Orzechowski Xavier

  3. Post-graduation Program in Pulmonary Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Mycology laboratory, Santa Casa-Complexo Hospitalar, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Luiz Carlos Severo

Authors
  1. Josep Guarro
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  2. Melissa Orzechowski Xavier
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  3. Luiz Carlos Severo
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Correspondence to Josep Guarro .

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  1. Porto Alegre, Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa de, Av. Independencia 155, Porto Alegre, 90035-075, Brazil

    Alessandro Comarú Pasqualotto

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Guarro, J., Xavier, M.O., Severo, L.C. (2009). Differences and Similarities Amongst Pathogenic Aspergillus Species. In: Comarú Pasqualotto, A. (eds) Aspergillosis: From Diagnosis to Prevention. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2408-4_2

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