Species of fungi belonging to the order Mucorales can be found everywhere in the environment. Gilbertella persicaria, which belongs to this order, have often been isolated from fruits and in water systems. However, there has been no report of isolation of this fungus from human samples. During a gut mycobiome study, from the Segamat community, Gilbertella persicaria was isolated from a human fecal sample and was characterized through a series of morphological assessment, biochemical tests, and molecular techniques. The isolate produced a white velvety surface that turned grayish after 24 h. Although no biofilm production was observed, the results indicated that the isolate could form calcium oxalate crystals, produced urease, and was resistant to low pH. The isolate was sensitive to amphotericin but resistant to voriconazole and itraconazole. The features of this fungus that could help in its survival in the human gut are also discussed.
In the past decade, researchers have focused on the emergence of drug resistance in fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, also considered as pathobionts that occur harmlessly in the human body but could potentially be triggered to cause diseases. The increasing rate of antifungal resistance in commensal gut fungi is alarming and should be further investigated. Here, we report seven novel MLST (Multi Locus Sequence Typing) genotypes of multi-drug resistant C. albicans isolates obtained from participants of a community study in Segamat, a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. A total of eight C. albicans were isolated from four individuals, which were found to express high resistance against fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and 5-fluorocytosine antifungals. MLST was performed to assess the clonal relatedness of these drug resistant isolates among themselves and against other strains isolated from other geographical regions. The novel MLST C. albicans sequence types suggest significant genetic changes compared to previous genotypes.
The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Southeast Asia is a significant concern, yet there is limited research on the gut resistome and its correlation with lifestyle and environmental factors in the region. This study aimed to profile the gut resistome of 200 individuals in Malaysia using shotgun metagenomic sequencing and investigate its association with questionnaire data comprising demographic and lifestyle variables. A total of 1038 antibiotic resistance genes from 26 classes were detected with a mean carriage rate of 1.74 ± 1.18 gene copies per cell per person. Correlation analysis identified 14 environmental factors, including hygiene habits, health parameters, and intestinal colonization, that were significantly associated with the resistome (adjusted multivariate PERMANOVA, p
Acinetobacter baumannii is a common cause of multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial infections around the world. However, little is known about the persistence and dynamics of A. baumannii in a healthy community. This study investigated the role of the community as a prospective reservoir for A. baumannii and explored possible links between hospital and community isolates. A total of 12 independent A. baumannii strains were isolated from human faecal samples from the community in Segamat, Malaysia, in 2018 and 2019. Another 15 were obtained in 2020 from patients at the co-located tertiary public hospital. The antimicrobial resistance profile and biofilm formation ability were analysed, and the relatedness of community and hospital isolates was determined using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Antibiotic profile analysis revealed that 12 out of 15 hospital isolates were MDR, but none of the community isolates were MDR. However, phylogenetic analysis based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a pangenome analysis of core genes showed clustering between four community and two hospital strains. Such clustering of strains from two different settings based on their genomes suggests that these strains could persist in both. WGS revealed 41 potential resistance genes on average in the hospital strains, but fewer (n=32) were detected in the community strains. In contrast, 68 virulence genes were commonly seen in strains from both sources. This study highlights the possible transmission threat to public health posed by virulent A. baumannii present in the gut of asymptomatic individuals in the community.
Although several studies have already been carried out in investigating the general profile of the gut mycobiome across several countries, there has yet to be an officially established baseline of a healthy human gut mycobiome, to the best of our knowledge. Microbial composition within the gastrointestinal tract differ across individuals worldwide, and most human gut fungi studies concentrate specifically on individuals from developed countries or diseased cohorts. The present study is the first culture-dependent community study assessing the prevalence and diversity of gut fungi among different ethnic groups from South East Asia. Samples were obtained from a multi-ethnic semi-rural community from Segamat in southern Malaysia. Faecal samples were screened for culturable fungi and questionnaire data analysis was performed. Culturable fungi were present in 45% of the participants' stool samples. Ethnicity had an impact on fungal prevalence and density in stool samples. The prevalence of resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and 5-fluorocytosine, from the Segamat community, were 14%, 14%, 11% and 7% respectively. It was found that Jakun individuals had lower levels of antifungal resistance irrespective of the drug tested, and male participants had more fluconazole resistant yeast in their stool samples. Two novel point mutations were identified in the ERG11 gene from one azole resistant Candida glabrata, suggesting a possible cause of the occurrence of antifungal resistant isolates in the participant's faecal sample.