Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is both an environmental saprobe and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen, resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the azoles used for plant protection...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Amelia E. Barber, Jennifer Riedel, Tongta Sae-Ong, Kang Kang, Werner Brabetz, Gianni Panagiotou, Holger B. Deising, Oliver Kurzai
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2020
Materias:	Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus antifungal resistance azole fungicide population genomics Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d8072aa7903b4e8e91be158b1e48fce4
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:d8072aa7903b4e8e91be158b1e48fce4
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d8072aa7903b4e8e91be158b1e48fce42021-11-15T15:55:44ZEffects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure10.1128/mBio.02213-202150-7511https://doaj.org/article/d8072aa7903b4e8e91be158b1e48fce42020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.02213-20https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is both an environmental saprobe and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen, resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the azoles used for plant protection share the same molecular target as the frontline antifungals used clinically. However, limiting azole fungicide use on crop fields to preserve their activity for clinical use could threaten the global food supply via a reduction in yield. In this study, we clarify the link between azole fungicide use on crop fields and resistance in a prototypical human pathogen through systematic soil sampling on farms in Germany and surveying fields before and after fungicide application. We observed a reduction in the abundance of A. fumigatus on fields following fungicide treatment in 2017, a finding that was not observed on an organic control field with only natural plant protection agents applied. However, this finding was less pronounced during our 2018 sampling, indicating that the impact of fungicides on A. fumigatus population size is variable and influenced by additional factors. The overall resistance frequency among agricultural isolates is low, with only 1 to 3% of isolates from 2016 to 2018 displaying resistance to medical azoles. Isolates collected after the growing season and azole exposure show a subtle but consistent decrease in susceptibility to medical and agricultural azoles. Whole-genome sequencing indicates that, despite the alterations in antifungal susceptibility, fungicide application does not significantly affect the population structure and genetic diversity of A. fumigatus in fields. Given the low observed resistance rate among agricultural isolates as well the lack of genomic impact following azole application, we do not find evidence that azole use on crops is significantly driving resistance in A. fumigatus in this context. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is an environmental fungus that also causes life-threatening infections in humans, antimicrobial resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the chemicals used for plant protection are almost identical to the antifungals used clinically. However, removing azole fungicides from crop fields threatens the global food supply via a reduction in yield. In this study, we survey crop fields before and after fungicide application. We find a low overall azole resistance rate among agricultural isolates, as well as a lack of genomic and population impact following fungicide application, leading us to conclude azole use on crops does not significantly contribute to resistance in A. fumigatus.Amelia E. BarberJennifer RiedelTongta Sae-OngKang KangWerner BrabetzGianni PanagiotouHolger B. DeisingOliver KurzaiAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleAspergillus fumigatusAspergillusantifungal resistanceazolefungicidepopulation genomicsMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 11, Iss 6 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus antifungal resistance azole fungicide population genomics Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus antifungal resistance azole fungicide population genomics Microbiology QR1-502 Amelia E. Barber Jennifer Riedel Tongta Sae-Ong Kang Kang Werner Brabetz Gianni Panagiotou Holger B. Deising Oliver Kurzai Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
description	ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is both an environmental saprobe and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen, resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the azoles used for plant protection share the same molecular target as the frontline antifungals used clinically. However, limiting azole fungicide use on crop fields to preserve their activity for clinical use could threaten the global food supply via a reduction in yield. In this study, we clarify the link between azole fungicide use on crop fields and resistance in a prototypical human pathogen through systematic soil sampling on farms in Germany and surveying fields before and after fungicide application. We observed a reduction in the abundance of A. fumigatus on fields following fungicide treatment in 2017, a finding that was not observed on an organic control field with only natural plant protection agents applied. However, this finding was less pronounced during our 2018 sampling, indicating that the impact of fungicides on A. fumigatus population size is variable and influenced by additional factors. The overall resistance frequency among agricultural isolates is low, with only 1 to 3% of isolates from 2016 to 2018 displaying resistance to medical azoles. Isolates collected after the growing season and azole exposure show a subtle but consistent decrease in susceptibility to medical and agricultural azoles. Whole-genome sequencing indicates that, despite the alterations in antifungal susceptibility, fungicide application does not significantly affect the population structure and genetic diversity of A. fumigatus in fields. Given the low observed resistance rate among agricultural isolates as well the lack of genomic impact following azole application, we do not find evidence that azole use on crops is significantly driving resistance in A. fumigatus in this context. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is an environmental fungus that also causes life-threatening infections in humans, antimicrobial resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the chemicals used for plant protection are almost identical to the antifungals used clinically. However, removing azole fungicides from crop fields threatens the global food supply via a reduction in yield. In this study, we survey crop fields before and after fungicide application. We find a low overall azole resistance rate among agricultural isolates, as well as a lack of genomic and population impact following fungicide application, leading us to conclude azole use on crops does not significantly contribute to resistance in A. fumigatus.
format	article
author	Amelia E. Barber Jennifer Riedel Tongta Sae-Ong Kang Kang Werner Brabetz Gianni Panagiotou Holger B. Deising Oliver Kurzai
author_facet	Amelia E. Barber Jennifer Riedel Tongta Sae-Ong Kang Kang Werner Brabetz Gianni Panagiotou Holger B. Deising Oliver Kurzai
author_sort	Amelia E. Barber
title	Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
title_short	Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
title_full	Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
title_fullStr	Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
title_full_unstemmed	Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure
title_sort	effects of agricultural fungicide use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> abundance, antifungal susceptibility, and population structure
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/d8072aa7903b4e8e91be158b1e48fce4
work_keys_str_mv	AT ameliaebarber effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT jenniferriedel effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT tongtasaeong effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT kangkang effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT wernerbrabetz effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT giannipanagiotou effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT holgerbdeising effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure AT oliverkurzai effectsofagriculturalfungicideuseonnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesaspergillusfumigatusnamedcontentabundanceantifungalsusceptibilityandpopulationstructure
_version_	1718427181968785408

Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on <named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</named-content> Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure

Ejemplares similares