title: Pithomyces species (Montagnulaceae) from clinical specimens: identification and antifungal susceptibility profiles.
abstract: The fungal genus Pithomyces comprises numerous dematiaceous saprobic species commonly found on dead leaves and stems of a great variety of plants. Occasionally, they have been recovered from clinical specimens. We morphologically and molecularly (rDNA sequences) investigated a set of 42 isolates tentatively identified as Pithomyces recovered from clinical specimens in the United States. The predominant species were P. chartarum and P. sacchari (33.3% each), followed by Pithomyces sp. I (28.6%) and P. maydicus (4.8%). Most of the isolates were obtained from samples of superficial tissue (50%), the respiratory tract (21.4%), and the nasal region (19%). In general, these fungi were highly susceptible in vitro to the eight antifungal agents tested.
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Micologia, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
authors.forename: Keith Cássia
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: da Cunha
authors.affiliation: Fungus Testing Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Deanna A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Micologia, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain josepa.gene@urv.cat.
authors.forename: Josepa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gené
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Micologia, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Micologia, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Capilla
authors.affiliation: Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS)-an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Madrid
authors.affiliation: Mycothéque de l'Université catholique de Louvain (MUCL), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Cony
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Decock
authors.affiliation: Fungus Testing Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Wiederhold
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Micologia, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guarro
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008853:Microscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology*; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
keywords: DNA analysis; Pithomyces; antifungal susceptibility; clinical specimens; morphological identification