JCM Accepts, published online ahead of print on 4 November 2009

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J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01556-09
Copyright (c) 2009, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Neosartorya udagawae (Aspergillus udagawae), an emerging agent of aspergillosis: How different is it from Aspergillus fumigatus?

J. A. Sugui, D. C. Vinh, G. Nardone, Y. R. Shea, Y. C. Chang, A. M. Zelazny, K. A. Marr, S. M. Holland, and K. J. Kwon-Chung^*

Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Technology Branch and Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: june_kwon-chung{at}nih.gov.

A recent report on several cases of invasive aspergillosis (IA) caused by Neosartorya udagawae suggested distinctive patterns of disease progression between N. udagawae and Aspergillus fumigatus. This prompted us to characterize N. udagawae in comparison to A. fumigatus. Our findings showed that both species exist in two mating types in similar ratios and produce gliotoxin. However, thermotolerance of the two species differs: while A. fumigatus is able to grow at 55°C but not at 10°C, N. udagawae is able to grow at 10°C but fails to grow at temperatures >42°C. Furthermore, compared to A. fumigatus, conidia of N. udagawae require longer incubation periods to germinate at 37°C, are more susceptible to neutrophil attack as well as hydrogen peroxide and the species is less virulent in gp91^phox-/- mice. These findings suggest that growth and susceptibility to host response might account for the reduced virulence of N. udagawae and the subtle distinction of disease progression between the two species.