Phialemonium curvatum
| Phialemonium curvatum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Sordariales |
| Family: | Cephalothecaceae |
| Genus: | Phialemonium |
| Species: | P. curvatum |
| Binomial name | |
|
Phialemonium curvatum Gams, W & M.R. McGinnis (1983) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Phialemoniopsis curvata (W. Gams & W.B. Cooke) H. Perdomo, D. García, Gené, Cano & Guarro (2013) |
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Phialemoniopsis curvata (W. Gams & W.B. Cooke) H. Perdomo, D. García, Gené, Cano & Guarro (2013)
Phialemonium curvatum is a pathogenic fungus in the phylum Ascomycota. The genus was created to accommodate taxa intermediate to Acremonium and Phialophora. This genus is characterized by its abundance of adelophialides and few discrete phialides with no signs of collarettes. Specifically, P. curvatum is characterized by its grayish white colonies and its allantoid conidia.Phialemonium curvatum is typically found in a variety of environments including air, soil, industrial water and sewage. Furthermore, P. curvatum affects mainly immunocompromised and is rarely seen in immunocompetent people. The species has been known to cause peritonitis, endocarditis, endovascular infections, osteomyelitis as well as cutaneous infections of wounds and burns.
Phialemonium curvatum was first described by W. Gans et McGinnis in 1983. It is noted as being pigmented although it lacks dark pigmentation. The colony appearance is flat and glabrous with a white turning yellow appearance surrounded by a yellow pigment surrounding the colony. Conidia of P. curvatum are uniformly cylindrical to bean-shaped with their length ranging from 3.5–6.0 μm and their width varying from 1.0–1.4 μm. A key feature of P. curvatum is its lack of chlamydoconidia, distinguishing it from P. obovatum. As well, the phialides of P. curvatum have poorly defined to absent collarettes with their dimensions varying from 1–7 x 0.5–1.0 μm.Phialemonium curvatum can grow at temperatures between 10–36 °C. Another way of identifying P. curvatum is through the use of PCR and DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS). By incubating a suspected culture in a GEPD medium at 30 °C, a culture can be grown to allow for the isolation and extraction of genomic DNA. Then through the use ITS1 primers and ITS4, the samples can be amplified, sequenced and analyzed to allow for the identification of P. curvatum.
Case studies have shown that P. curvatum is capable of causing arthritis. The source of the infection has often been traced to a penile or intra-articular injection of a corticosteroid. The course of treatment has been to prescribe the patient with amphotericin B and voriconazole.
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