Extracellular Enzymes and Mycotoxins as Virulence Factors in Fusarium and Aspergillus Keratitis

Kanesan Panneer Selvam¹, Y. Randhir Babu Singh²,Coimbatore Subramanian Shobana²*, Nair Kalesh Karunakaran²,Csaba Vágvölgyi³, László Kredics³, Raid Saleem Al-Baradie⁴ and Palanisamy Manikandan^4-5

¹Department of Microbiology, MR Government Arts College, Mannargudi - 614 001, India ²Department of Microbiology, Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science, Coimbatore – 641 014, India. ³Faculty of Science and Informatics, Department of Microbiology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. ⁴Department of Medical Laboratory, Applied Medical Sciences College, Majmaah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ⁵Department of Microbiology, Aravind Eye Hospital and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Coimbatore - 641 014, Tamilnadu, India

ABSTRACT: The incidence of Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis is on alarming rise with its burden increasing by the fact that they can produce an array of extra cellular enzymes and mycotoxins which act as virulence factors. In this context, 154 isolates of Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp. were screened for extracellular enzymes production. Further, representative isolates from the two genera were analyzed for mycotoxin production. Both genera were able to produce an array of extracellular enzymes. It was noted that protease and lipase are actively involved in Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis. Aflatoxins were detected from Aspergillus spp., however no mycotoxins were detected from Fusarium spp. The study concludes that the extra cellular protease and lipase are cause of concern since it play important roles in pathogenesis of Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis.

KEYWORDS: Fusarium; Aspergillus; Keratitis; Extracellular enzymes; Mycotoxins

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