Species Distribution and Antifungal Susceptibilities of Aspergillus Section Terrei Isolates in Clinical Samples from the United States and Description of Aspergillus pseudoalabamensis sp. nov.

Connie F. Cañete-Gibas, Hoja P. Patterson, Carmita J. Sanders, James Mele, Hongxin Fan, Marjorie David, Nathan P. Wiederhold

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aspergillus section Terrei consists of numerous cryptic species in addition to A. terreus sensu stricto. The treatment of invasive infections caused by these fungi may pose a unique challenge prior to diagnosis and species identification, in that they are often clinically resistant to amphotericin B, with poor outcomes and low survival rates in patients treated with this polyene. Data on the species distributions and susceptibility profiles of isolates within section Terrei from the United States (U.S.) are limited. Here, we report the species distributions and susceptibility profiles for amphotericin B, isavuconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, and micafungin against 278 clinical isolates of this section from institutions across the U.S. collected over a 52-month period. Species identification was performed by DNA sequence analysis and phenotypic characterization. Susceptibility testing was performed using the CLSI broth microdilution method. The majority of isolates were identified as Aspergillus terreus sensu stricto (69.8%), although several other cryptic species were also identified. Most were cultured from specimens collected from the respiratory tract. Posaconazole demonstrated the most potent activity of the azoles (MIC range ≤ 0.03–1 mg/L), followed by itraconazole (≤0.03–2 mg/L), voriconazole, and isavuconazole (0.125–8 mg/L for each). Amphotericin B demonstrated reduced in vitro susceptibility against this section (MIC range 0.25–8 mg/L), although this appeared to be species-dependent. A new species within this section, A. pseudoalabamensis, is also described. Our results, which are specific to the U.S., are similar to previous surveillance studies of the Aspergillus section Terrei.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number579
JournalPathogens
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2023

Keywords

  • Aspergillus pseudoalabamensis
  • Aspergillus section Terrei
  • antifungal susceptibility

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Molecular Biology
  • General Immunology and Microbiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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