Mycology Reference Laboratory (MRL)/NCPF publications 2020-21

NCPF is the United Kingdom's only culture collection specialising in fungi pathogenic to humans and animals and is an integral part of the UK Mycology Reference Laboratory in Bristol.

In 2020-21, members of MRL published 40 scientific papers covering a wide range of topics including antimicrobial susceptibility, taxa revisions, case studies and the considerable impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and COVID-19 on laboratory activities and workload.

See below for Mycology Reference Laboratory (MRL)/NCPF publications 2020-21:

• Borman AM, Muller J, Walsh-Quantick J, Szekely A, Patterson Z, Palmer MD, Fraser M,Johnson EM. (2020). MIC distributions for amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, flucytosine and anidulafungin for thirty-five uncommon pathogenic yeasts species from the UK determined using CLSI broth microdilution method. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. Doi: 10.1093/jac/dkz568.

• Maphanga TG, Birkhead M, Schwartz IS, Corcoran C, Zulu TG, Naicker SD, Kenyon C, Borman AM, Frean JA, Govender NP. (2020). Human blastomycosis in South Africa caused by Blastomyces percursus and Blastomyces emzantszii sp. nov., 1968 – 2014. J. Clin Microbiol., 58(3):e01661-19. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01661-19.

• Heaney H, Laing J, Paterson L, Walker AW, Gow NAR, Johnson EM, MacCallum DM, Brown AJP. (2020). The environmental stress sensitivities of pathogenic Candida species, including Candida auris, and implications for their spread in the hospital setting.Med Mycol. 2020 doi: 10.1093/mmy/myz127

• Borman AM, Hughes J, Oliver D, Fraser M, Sunderland J , Noel AR, Johnson EM. (2020). Lessons from isavuconazole therapeutic drug monitoring at a United Kingdom Reference centre. Med. Mycol. 58:996-999. DOI:10.1093/mmy/myaa022.

• Borman AM, Johnson EM. (2020). Candida auris in the UK: introduction, dissemination and control. PLoS Pathogens, 16: e1008563. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008563.

• Borman AM, Fraser M, Johnson EM. (2020). CHROMagarTM Candida Plus: A novel chromogenic agar that permits the rapid identification of Candida auris. Med. Mycol. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myaa049.

• Nagy F, Vitális E, Jakab A, Borman AM, Forgács L, Tóth Z, Majoros L, Kovács R. (2020). In vitro and in vivo effect of exogenous farnesol exposure against Candida auris. Frontiers in Microbiology, DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2020.00957.

• Vergidis P, Rao A, Moore CB, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Sweeney LC, Morton M, Johnson EM, A.M. Borman AM, Richardson MD, Augustine T. (2020). Talaromycosis in a renal transplant recipient returning from South China. Transplant Infect. Dis., DOI: 10.1111/tid.13447.

• Forgács L, Borman AM, Prépost E, Tóth Z, Kardos G, Kovács R, Szekely A, Nagy F, Kovacs I, Majoros L.(2020). Comparison of in vivo pathogenicity of four Candida auris clades in a neutropenic bloodstream infection murine model. Emerging Microbes Infect. 9: 1160-1169. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1771218.

• Borman AM, Fraser M, Schilling W, Jones G, Pearl R, Linton CJ, Johnson EM. (2020), Exophiala campbellii causing a subcutaneous palmar cyst in an otherwise heathy UK resident. Med Mycol Case Reports, DOI: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2020.07.004.

• Gharehbolagh SA, Fallah B, Izadi A, Ardenstani ZS, Malekifar P, Borman AM, Mahmoudi S. (2020). Distribution, antifungal susceptibility pattern and intra-Candida albicans species complex prevalence of Candida africana: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237046.

• Kurteva E, Bamford A, Cross K, Watson T, Owens C, Cheng F, Hartley J, Harris K, Johnson EM, Lindley K, Levine S, Köglmeier J. (2020). Colonic Basidiobolomycosis-An Unusual Presentation of Eosinophilic Intestinal Inflammation.Front Pediatr. 8:142. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00142.

• Armstrong-James D, Youngs J, Bicanic T, Abdolrasouli A, Denning DW, Johnson E, Mehra V, Pagliuca T, Patel B, Rhodes J, Schelenz S, Shah A, van de Veerdonk FL, Verweij PE, White PL, Fisher MC. (2020). Confronting and mitigating the risk of COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis.Confronting and mitigating the risk of COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis.Eur Respir J. 56:2002554. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02554-2020.

• Peano A, Johnson E, Chiavassa E, Tizzani P, Guillot J, Pasquetti M. (2020). Antifungal Resistance Regarding Malassezia pachydermatis: Where Are We Now?J Fungi 6(2):93. doi: 10.3390/jof6020093

• Pang L, Zhao X, Dickens BL, Lim JT, Cook AR, Netea MG, Donnelly JP, Herbrecht R, Johnson EM, Maertens JA, Kullberg BJ, Troke PF, Marr KA, Chai LYA. (2020). Using routine blood parameters to anticipate clinical outcomes in invasive aspergillosis. Clin Microbiol Infect. 26(6):781.e1-781.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.10.019.

• Morgan E, Biddlestone L, Johnson E, Lovell C. Nodules on the legs in an immunosuppressed patient. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2020 Apr;45(3):370-372. doi: 10.1111/ced.14057.

• Borman AM, Palmer MD, Fraser M, Patterson Z, Mann C, Oliver D, Linton CJ, Gough M, Brown P, Dzietczyk A, Hedley M, McLachlan S, King J, Johnson EM. (2020). COVID-19 associated invasive fungal infections: data from the UK National Mycology Reference Laboratory. J. Clin Microbiol. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02136-20.

• Kovacs R, Thoth Z, Forgacs L, Locke JB, Kardos G, Nagy F, Prepost E, Szekely A, Borman AM, Majoros L. (2020). Relative frequency of paradoxical growth and trailing effect with caspofungin, micafungin, anidulafungin and the novel echinocandin rezafungin against Candida species. Journal of Fungi, 6:136. DOI: 10.3390/jof6030136

• Borman AM, Johnson EM. (2021). Name changes for fungi of medical importance, 2018-2019. J. Clin Microbiol, doi: 10.1128/JCM.01811-20.
• Borman A, Johnson EM. (2021). Reply to Kidd et al., "New Names for Fungi of Medical Importance: Can We Have Our Cake and Eat It Too?" J. Clin. Microbiol., doi: 10.1128/JCM.02896-20.

• Abdolrasouli A, Gibani MM, de Groot T, Borman AM, Hoffman P, Azadian BS, Mughal N, Moore LSP, Johnson EM, Meis JF. (2021). A pseudo-outbreak of Rhinocladiella similis in a bronchoscopy unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in London, United Kingdom. Mycoses, doi: 10.1111/myc.13227.

• Arkell P, Mahboobani S, Wilson R, Fatania N, Coleman N, Borman AM, Johnson EM, Armstrong-James D, Abdolrasouli A. (2021). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid IMMY Sona Aspergillus Lateral-Flow Assay for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: a prospective, real life evaluation. Medical Mycology, doi: 10.1093/mmy/myaa113

• Farrer RA, Borman AM, Inkster T, Fisher MC, Johnson EM, Cuomo CA. (2021). Genomic epidemiology of a Cryptococcus neoformans outbreak in Glasgow, Scotland, 2018. Microbial Genomics, DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000537.

• Aghaei Gharehbolagh S, Izadi A, Talebi M, Sadeghi F, Zarrinnia A, Zarei F, Darmiani K, Borman AM, Mahmoudi S. (2021)New weapons to fight a new enemy: a systematic review of drug combinations against the drug-resistant fungus Candida auris.Mycoses, DOI:10.1111/myc.13277.

• Kovacs R, Nagy F, Tóth Z, Forgacs L, Váradi LT, Tóth G, Vadászi K, Borman AM, Majoros L, Galgóczy L. (2021). The Neosartorya fischeri antifungal protein 2 (NFAP2): A new potential weapon against multidrug-resistant Candida auris biofilms. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22:771. DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020771

• Hussain K, Malavia D, Johnson EM, Littlechild J, Winlove CP, Vollmer F, Gow NAR. Biosensors and Diagnostics for Fungal Detection. J. Fungi2020, 6, 349.

• Borman, Johnson EM. (2021). Sequence-based identification and classification of fungi in “Trends in the systematics of bacteria and fungi” P.D. Bridge, D. Smith, E. Stackenbrand eds. CABI Publishing, pp198-216.

• Borman AM, Fraser M, Patterson Z, Palmer MD, Johnson EM. (2021). In vitro antifungal drug resistance profiles of clinically relevant members of the Mucorales (Mucoromycota) especially with the newer triazoles. Journal of Fungi, DOI:10.3390/jof7040271.

• Sharp A, Muller-Pebody B, Charlett A, Patel B, Gorton R, Lambourne J, Cummins M, Alcolea-Medina A, Wilks M, Smith R, Mack D, Hopkins S, Dodgson A, Burns P, Perera N, Lim F, Rao G, Khanna P, Johnson E, Borman A, Schelenz S, Guy R, Conneely J, Manuel RJ, Brown CS. (2021). Screening for Candida auris in patients admitted to eight intensive care units in England, 2017 to 2018. Euro Surveill. ;26(8):1900730. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.8.1900730

• Aghaei Gharehbolagh S, Izadi A, Talebi M, Sadeghi F, Zarrinnia A, Zarei F, Darmiani K, Borman AM, Mahmoudi S. (2021). New weapons to fight a new enemy: A systematic review of drug combinations against the drug-resistant fungus Candida auris. Mycoses 64(11):1308-1316. doi: 10.1111/myc.13277.

• Kovács R, Tóth Z, Locke JB, Forgács L, Kardos G, Nagy F, Borman AM, Majoros L. (2021). Comparison of In Vitro Killing Activity of Rezafungin, Anidulafungin, Caspofungin, and Micafungin against Four Candida auris Clades in RPMI-1640 in the Absence and Presence of Human Serum. Microorganisms 9(4):863. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9040863.

• Borman AM, Johnson EM. (2021). Erratum for Borman and Johnson, “Name changes for fungi of medical importance, 2018 to 2019”. J. Clin. Microbiol. DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00331-21.

• Nagy F, Tóth Z, Nyikos F, Forgács L, Jakab Á, Borman AM, Majoros L, Kovács R. (2021). In vitro and in vivo interaction of caspofungin with isavuconazole against Candida auris planktonic cells and biofilms. Med Mycol. 59(10):1015-1023. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myab032

• Borman AM (2021). Use of Galleria mellonella larvae to study the pathogenicity and clonal lineage-specific behaviours of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris. Methods in Molecular Biology, In Press.

• Borman AM, Fraser M, Patterson Z, McLachlan S, Palmer MD, Mann C, Oliver D, Brown P, Linton CJ, Dzietczyk A, Hedley M, Gough M, Johnson EM. (2021). The considerable impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and COVID-19 on the UK National Mycology Reference Laboratory activities and workload. Med Mycol doi: 10.1093/mmy/myab03

• Papp Z, Borman AM, Forgács L, Kovács R, Tóth Z, Chun-Ju C, Kardos G, Juhász B, Szilvássy J, Majoros L. (2021). Unpredictable In Vitro Killing Activity of Amphotericin B against Four Candida auris Clades. Pathogens 10(8):990. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10080990.

• Jakab Á, Balla N, Ragyák Á, Nagy F, Kovács F, Sajtos Z, Tóth Z, Borman AM, Pócsi I, Baranyai E, Majoros L, Kovács R. (2021), Transcriptional Profiling of the Candida auris Response to Exogenous Farnesol Exposure. mSphere doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00710-21.

• Borman AM, Fraser M, Patterson Z, McLachlan S, Palmer MD, Mann C, Oliver D, Brown P, Linton CJ, Dzietczyk A, Hedley M, Gough M, Zapata L, North P, Johnson EM. (2021).Fungal biomarker testing turn-around-times at the UK National Mycology Reference Laboratory: setting the record straight. J Infect. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.10.010.

• Papon N, Borman AM, Meyer W, JBouchara J-P. (2021). Editorial: Fungal infections in cystic fibrosis. Frontiers Cell Infect. Microbiol. In press
• Johnson EM, Borman AM. (2021). Susceptibility testing of Candida auris isolates. Methods in Molecular Biology, In Press.