Abstract

Reptiles in the wild or as pets may act as spreaders of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. However, studies on the mycobiota of these animals are scanty. This study investigates the occurrence of yeasts from the cloacal swabs of snakes of different origins and the antifungal profile of the isolated strains. A total of 180 cloacal samples of snakes were collected from Morocco (Group I: n = 68) and Italy (Group II: n = 112). Yeast species were biochemically and molecularly identified. A total of 72 yeast strains belonging to 13 genera, 8 from snakes in Group I and five from snakes in Group II were identified. The most frequently isolated species were Trichosporon asahii (22.2%) and Candida tropicalis (15.3%) from snakes in Group I and Debaryomyces spp. (16.7%) and Metahyphopichia silvanorum (11.1%) from snakes in Group II. Multiple azole and amphotericin B (AmB) resistance phenomena were detected among isolated yeasts. Azole multi drug resistance phenomena were detected among yeasts from Group I and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from Group II, whereas AmB resistance phenomena among those from Group II. Data suggest that snakes may harbor pathogenetic yeasts, being potential reservoirs and spreaders of these organisms in the environment. Since the yeast species community from different groups of animals as well as their antifungal profile reflects the epidemiology of human yeast infections in the same geographical areas, the results indicate that snakes may be considered as sentinels for human/animal pathogenic microorganisms and bio-indicators of environmental quality.

Details

Title
Snakes as sentinel of zoonotic yeasts and bio-indicators of environmental quality
Author
Ugochukwu, Iniobong Chukwuebuka I. 1 ; Mendoza-Roldan, Jairo Alfonso 2 ; Rhimi, Wafa 2 ; Miglianti, Mara 2 ; Odigie, Amienwanlen Eugene 2 ; Mosca, Adriana 3 ; Filippi, Ernesto 4 ; Montinaro, Gianpaolo 5 ; Otranto, Domenico 6 ; Cafarchia, Claudia 2 

 University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Bari, Italy (GRID:grid.7644.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 0120 3326); University of Nigeria, Department of Veterinary Pathology, Nsukka, Nigeria (GRID:grid.10757.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2108 8257) 
 University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Bari, Italy (GRID:grid.7644.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 0120 3326) 
 University of Bari Aldo Moro, Dipartimento Interdisciplinare di Medicina, Bari, Italy (GRID:grid.7644.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 0120 3326) 
 Cocullo Municipality, Rome, Italy (GRID:grid.7644.1) 
 RIFCON GmbH, Hirschberg, Germany (GRID:grid.518980.d) (ISNI:0000 0004 5997 5398) 
 University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Bari, Italy (GRID:grid.7644.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 0120 3326); City University of Hong Kong, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong (GRID:grid.35030.35) (ISNI:0000 0004 1792 6846) 
Pages
22491
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3110816642
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.