title: Is the emergence of fungal resistance to medical triazoles related to their use in the agroecosystems? A mini review.
abstract: Triazole fungicides are used broadly for the control of infectious diseases of both humans and plants. The surge in resistance to triazoles among pathogenic populations is an emergent issue both in agriculture and medicine. The non-rational use of fungicides with site-specific modes of action, such as the triazoles, may increase the risk of antifungal resistance development. In the medical field, the surge of resistant fungal isolates has been related to the intensive and recurrent therapeutic use of a limited number of triazoles for the treatment and prophylaxis of many mycoses. Similarities in the mode of action of triazole fungicides used in these two fields may lead to cross-resistance, thus expanding the spectrum of resistance to multiple fungicides and contributing to the perpetuation of resistant strains in the environment. The emergence of fungicide-resistant isolates of human pathogens has been related to the exposure to fungicides used in agroecosystems. Examples include species of cosmopolitan occurrence, such as Fusarium and Aspergillus, which cause diseases in both plants and humans. This review summarizes the information about the most important triazole fungicides that are largely used in human clinical therapy and agriculture. We aim to discuss the issues related to fungicide resistance and the recommended strategies for preventing the emergence of triazole-resistant fungal populations capable of spreading across environments.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS, Faculdade de Farmácia, Departamento de Análises, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aícha Daniela
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ribas E Ribas
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pierri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spolti
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emerson Medeiros
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Del Ponte
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Katarzyna Zawada
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: Donato
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schrekker
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS, Faculdade de Farmácia, Departamento de Análises, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: alexandre.fuentefria@ufrgs.br.
authors.forename: Alexandre Meneghello
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fuentefria
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D017753:Ecosystem; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D006801:Humans; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D014230:Triazoles / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D014230:Triazoles
keywords: Agriculture; Cross-resistance; Emerging fungal pathogens; Fungicide sensitivity; Medicine