Effects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on Aspergillus fumigatus Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population Structure.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is both an environmental saprobe and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen, resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the azoles used for plant protection share the same molecular target as the frontline antifungals used clinically. However, limiting azole fungicide use on crop fields to preserve their activity for clinical use could threaten the global food supply via a reduction in yield. In this study, we clarify the link between azole fungicide use on crop fields and resistance in a prototypical human pathogen through systematic soil sampling on farms in Germany and surveying fields before and after fungicide application. We observed a reductio

SUBMITTER: Barber AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7701986 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature