What Is Hiding in the Israeli Mediterranean Seawater and Beach Sand
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sand Sampling
2.2. Water Sampling
2.3. Fungal Identification
2.4. Phenotypic Identification
2.5. MALDI-TOF MS
2.6. DNA Extraction, Amplification and Sequencing
3. Results
3.1. The Fungal Flora in Sand and Water
3.2. The Yeasts in Sand and Water
3.3. The Molds in Sand and Water
3.4. Fungal Load in Sand and Water
4. Discussion
- An extensive 2-year study that screened mycobiota in sand and water of the Israeli Mediterranean Sea coast revealed a great diversity of yeast and mold species, primarily in sand and to a minor extent in water.
- Many of the yeast and mold species have the potential to cause human disease, particularly in immunocompromised or debilitated individuals.
- In addition to the infectious process, fungi may cause human morbidity by provoking different types of allergies. Many of the mold species which are airborne may be associated with hypersensitivity reactions in allergy-prone bathers frequenting the recreational water bodies and the beaches around such water bodies.
- The data presented in this study may be a basis for regulatory measures to control the level of fungal mycobiota that occur in sand and seawater.
- Such regulatory measures are recommended for the benefit of public health.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Species | Molds in Water | Molds in Sand |
---|---|---|
Asp. tubingensis | 13 | 47 |
Asp. welwitschiae | 10 | 31 |
Asp. niger | 4 | 17 |
Asp. flavus | 4 | 17 |
Asp. fumigatus | 1 | 5 |
Asp. oryzea | 1 | |
Asp. astellatus | 1 | |
Asp. costaricensis | 1 | |
Asp. flavus\oryzae | 2 | |
Asp. luchuensis | 1 | |
Asp. puniceus | 1 | |
Asp. sydowii | 3 | |
Asp. tamarii | 1 | |
Asp. terreus | 4 | |
Asp. versicolor | 1 | |
Rhizopus arrhizus | 1 | 1 |
Mucor circinelloides | 1 | |
Rhizomucor pusillus | 1 | |
Penicillium chrysogenum | 5 | |
Pen. citrinum | 1 | |
Penicillium/Paecilomyces | 1 | |
Pen. rubens | 2 | |
Pen. polonicum | 1 | |
Pen. thymicola | 1 | |
Pen. verrucosum | 1 | |
Fusarium petroliphilum | 1 | |
Fus. brachygibbosum | 1 | |
Fus. solani | 1 | |
Fus. sp | 1 |
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Frenkel, M.; Serhan, H.; Blum, S.E.; Fleker, M.; Sionov, E.; Amit, S.; Gazit, Z.; Gefen-Halevi, S.; Segal, E. What Is Hiding in the Israeli Mediterranean Seawater and Beach Sand. J. Fungi 2022, 8, 950. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8090950
Frenkel M, Serhan H, Blum SE, Fleker M, Sionov E, Amit S, Gazit Z, Gefen-Halevi S, Segal E. What Is Hiding in the Israeli Mediterranean Seawater and Beach Sand. Journal of Fungi. 2022; 8(9):950. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8090950
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrenkel, Michael, Hanan Serhan, Shlomo E. Blum, Marcelo Fleker, Edward Sionov, Sharon Amit, Zeela Gazit, Shiraz Gefen-Halevi, and Esther Segal. 2022. "What Is Hiding in the Israeli Mediterranean Seawater and Beach Sand" Journal of Fungi 8, no. 9: 950. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8090950