Aspergillosis Disease of Sea Fans

真菌感染正在杀死海扇（柳珊瑚属）。遍布加勒比海， 对珊瑚礁健康的影响。这些感染是曲霉病--也就是说， 病原体是曲霉菌--在某些方面它们类似于人类的曲霉病。各种 海扇曲霉病的原因已经被提出：来自撒哈拉沙漠的尘埃云中的孢子 来自撒哈拉沙漠尘埃云、陆地径流和环境压力的营养物沉积。所有 已发表的研究集中在真菌A. sydowii作为唯一的病原体。然而，在这方面， 来自波多黎各的初步数据表明，至少有四种曲霉感染海洋 风扇，其中一些已知会产生霉菌毒素。该项目的长期目标是 能够预测和预防海扇曲霉病，并了解常见的 曲霉病在人类和海扇感染的机制。该项目包括四个关键 实现这一目标的步骤：1）确定哪些曲霉属物种感染海扇在波多黎各 Rico，通过真菌分离和DNA测序; 2）确定是否从海中分离到曲霉菌 通过满足科赫假设，在水族箱中使用海扇，风扇是致病的; 3）测试 通过测试热休克蛋白的存在，确定应激在海扇对曲霉病易感性中的作用;以及4）确定从海扇分离的曲霉菌株是否产生 真菌毒素在体外，因为真菌毒素有助于致病性的真菌感染， 人类总的假设是各种曲霉菌引起曲霉病， 病原体是机会性的，霉菌毒素和环境压力 有助于疾病。了解致病因子，生理反应和 造成这种疾病的环境因素是预防的关键步骤。

Fungal infections are killing sea fans (Gorgonia spp.) all over the Caribbean, with grave consequences for health of coral reefs. These infections are aspergillosis--that is, the pathogen is Aspergillus--and in some ways they resemble aspergillosis in humans. Various causes of sea fan aspergillosis have been proposed: spores in dust clouds from the Sahara nutrient deposition from Sahara dust clouds, terrestrial runoff, and environmental stress. All published studies have focused on the fungus A. sydowii as the sole pathogen. However, preliminary data from Puerto Rico suggest that at least four species of Aspergillus infect sea fans, some of which are known to produce mycotoxins. The long-term goal of this project is to be able to predict and prevent aspergillosis in sea fans, and to understand common mechanisms of aspergillosis in human and sea fan infections. This project includes four key steps towards this goal: 1) determine which species of Aspergillus infect sea fans in Puerto Rico, by isolation of fungi and DNA sequencing; 2) determine if Aspergillus isolated from sea fans are pathogenic by fulfiilling Koch's postulates, using sea fans in aquarium tanks; 3) test the role of stress in susceptibility of sea fans to aspergillosis, by testing for presence of heatshock proteins; and 4) determine if the strains of Aspergillus isolated from sea fans produce mycotoxins in vitro, since mycotoxins contribute to pathogenicity in fungal infections of humans. The overall hypothesis is that various species of Aspergillus cause aspergillosis, that the pathogens are opportunistic, and that mycotoxins and environmental stress contribute to the disease. Understanding the causal agents, physiological responses and environmental factors that contribute to the disease are crucial steps towards prevention.