Antimicrobial Properties of Basidiomycota Macrofungi to Mycobacterium abscessus Isolated from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
Date
2019-03-12
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Publisher
Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Abstract
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has now emerged as a global public health crisis. Of particular concern is AMR associated with
the genus Mycobacterium, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Emergence of the NTM, in
particular Mycobacterium abscessus, in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) represents both a diagnostic and a treatment dilemma. Such resistance
drives the need to investigate novel sources of antimicrobials. Medicinal fungi have a well‑documented history of use in traditional oriental
therapies. Not only is this an ancient practice, but also still today, medical practice in Japan, China, Korea, and other Asian countries continue to
rely on fungal‑derived antibiotics. A study was, therefore, undertaken to examine the antimicrobial activity of 23 native macrofungal (mushrooms/
toadstools) taxa, collected from woodlands in Northern Ireland against six clinical (CF) isolates of M. abscessus, as well as M. abscessus National
Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) Reference strain (NCTC 13031). Methods: Free‑growing saprophytic and mycorrhizal macrofungi (n = 23)
belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota were collected and were definitively identified employing Polymerase Chain reaction/ITS DNA
sequencing. Macrofungal tissues were freeze‑dried and reconstituted before employment in antibiotic susceptibility studies. Results: All
macrofungi examined showed varying inhibition of the M. abscessus isolates examined with the exception Russula nigricans. The macrofungi
displaying maximum antimycobacterial activity against the clinical isolates were (in descending order) M. giganteus (33.6 mg/ml), Hygrocybe
nigrescens (38.5 mg/ml) and Hypholoma fasciculare (25.3 mg/ml). Conclusion: Macrofungi may represent a source of novel antimicrobials
against M. abscessus, which have not yet been fully explored nor exploited clinically. This is the first report describing the antimycobacterial
properties of extracts of M. giganteus against M. abscessus. Further work is now required to identify the constituents and mode of the inhibitory
action of these macrofungi against the M. abscessus. Given the gravity of AMR in the NTMs, particularly M. abscessus and the clinical treatment
dilemmas that such AMR present, antibiotic drug discovery efforts should now focus on investigating and developing antibacterial compounds
from macrofungi, particularly M. giganteus, where there are no or limited current treatment options.
Description
Publication history: Published online - 12 March 2019.
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Keywords
antimicrobial resistance, cystic fibrosis, fungi, Mycobacterium abscessus, nontuberculous mycobacteria
Citation
Moore, J., Millar, B., Nelson, D., Moore, R. and Rao, J. (2019) ‘Antimicrobial properties of basidiomycota macrofungi to Mycobacterium abscessus isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis’, International Journal of Mycobacteriology. Medknow, 8(1), p. 93. doi: 10.4103/ijmy.ijmy_167_18.