High Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates from Strawberry Fields, China, 2018

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 81 - 89
• Main Authors: Chen, Yong, Dong, Fengshou, Zhao, Jingya, Fan, Hong, Qin, Chunping, Li, Runan, Verweij, Paul E, Zheng, Yongquan, Han, Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.01.2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agriculture; Antifungal agents; antifungal resistance; Aspergillus fumigatus; Aspergillus fumigatus - drug effects; Aspergillus fumigatus - genetics; Aspergillus fumigatus - isolation & purification; azole fungicides; China; China - epidemiology; Crop Production; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Fungal - genetics; Epidemiology; Fragaria; Fungi; Fungicides; Fungicides, Industrial - pharmacology; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genotyping Techniques; High Azole Resistance in; Isolates from Strawberry Fields, China, 2018; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microsatellite Repeats - genetics; Mutation; Pesticides; Phylogeny; Posaconazole; Quality control; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Soil Microbiology; strawberry; China; azole resistance; resistance hotspot; cyp51A; asexual reproduction; azole fungicides; agriculture; epidemiology; antifungal drug resistance; asexual sporulation; MAT1-1; antimicrobial resistance; fungi; short tandem repeat typing; China; farms; strawberry fields; strawberries; STR type; Aspergillus fumigatus
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2601.190885

In 2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate azole resistance in environmental Aspergillus fumigatus isolates obtained from different agricultural fields in China. Using 63 soil cores, we cultured for azole-resistant A. fumigatus and characterized isolates by their cyp51A gene type, short tandem repeat genotype, and mating type. Of 206 A. fumigatus isolates, 21 (10.2%) were azole resistant. Nineteen of 21 had mutations in their cyp51A gene (5 TR34/L98H, 8 TR34/L98H/S297T/F495I, 6 TR46/Y121F/T289A). Eighteen were cultured from soil samples acquired from strawberry fields, suggesting this soil type is a potential hotspot for azole resistance selection. Twenty resistant isolates were mating type MAT1-1, suggesting asexual sporulation contributed to their evolution. Prochloraz, difenoconazole, and tebuconazole were the most frequently detected fungicides in soil samples with azole-resistant fungus. Our study results suggest that managing the fungicides used in agriculture will help contain the problem of antifungal drug resistance in clinics.