Table of Contents

Whole Allergen

m9 Fusarium proliferatum

m9 Fusarium proliferatum Scientific Information

Type:

Whole Allergen

Display Name:

Fusarium proliferatum

Allergen code:

Family:

Nectriaceae

Species:

proliferatum

Route of Exposure:

Inhalation

Latin Name:

Fusarium proliferatum/F.moniliforme

Other Names:

Fusarium moniliforme; Gibberella fujikuroi; soy bean root rot

WHO/ICD-11 code:

XN0X5

(ICD-11 is currently under implementation by WHO and the ICD-11 codes displayed in the encyclopedia may not yet be available in all countries)

Summary

Fusarium proliferatum (Gibberella fujikuroi) is a ubiquitous mold of the order Hypocreales, mostly found in plant materials and soil worldwide. It shows a variety of phenotypes and is a known plant pathogen and producer of mycotoxins. The particles causing allergic reactions are spores found in the environment.

F. proliferatum hypersensitivity may present with symptoms of respiratory allergy such as asthma or rhinitis; molds of the Fusarium genus are also able to cause opportunistic disease. Cross reactivity with other molds, especially if taxonomically close, may occur.

Allergen

Nature

The genus Fusarium is a group of ubiquitous fungi found in soil and water environments (1), very common in warm and tropical regions (2). These fungi are well known saprophytes but also plant pathogens (1), with the ability to produce a large number of mycotoxins. The mycotoxins produced by Fusarium spp. including F. proliferatum are (among others) deoxyvalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZON), T-2 toxin, fumonisins B1, B2 and B3, beauvericin and fusaproliferin (3-9). Mycotoxins contaminate crops and have serious effects on the feed industry as they decrease yield and quality of the crop (4, 5, 9); fumonisin in particular has the potential to cause disease in animals and humans (10-12).

Fusarium proliferatum is the anamorph (asexual form) of the fungus G. fujikuroi (teleomorph, the sexual form) (9). F. proliferatum is able to cause disease in a very diverse range of plant species including rice (3), soy bean (13), maize and wheat (14), barley (5), asparagus (7), ornamentals such as Sansevieria trifasciata (15), prairie grasses (6), garlic (9), fig, onion, palm and pine (8).

Fusarium spp. Colonies are fast growing, variable in color, with an aerial mycelium taking a felt-like appearance. Conidia (a type of spore) are produced; depending on the species, macro- and microconidia are produced; these vary in shape and size. F. proliferatum can produce microconidial chains (2).

There is considerable overlap between peak fungal activity season and other allergens such as grass and weed pollens, often masking the pathology caused by fungal spores in multi-sensitized people (16). Fusarium spp. spores were detected at higher levels in the autumn and contributed on average to 3.03% of the total mold spores caught during a study spanning a 2-year period (17).

Taxonomy

*Taxonomic tree of Fusarium* genus (18)**
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Fungi
Phylum	Ascomycota
Subphylum	Pezizomycotina
Class	Sordariomycetes
Order	Hypocreales
Family	Nectriaceae
Genus	Fusarium

Tissue

Spores (17).

Epidemiology

Worldwide distribution

Hypersensitivity caused by Fusarium spp. has been described in several countries around the world, including India (17), Sweden (19), Malaysia (20), Greece (21) and Taiwan (22, 23).

Environmental Characteristics

Worldwide distribution

Fusarium proliferatum has been identified worldwide (18).

Route of Exposure

Main

Inhalation (7).

Detection

Main methods

Personal volumetric petri plate sampler (17)

Measures

The concentrations of Fusarium spp. spores ranged between 51–132 CFU/m³ (17).

Clinical Relevance

There appears to be a scarcity of studies focusing on the specific allergic conditions caused by F. proliferatum. However, several studies have shown associations between Fusarium spp. and patients with a history of allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema, conjunctivitis and rhinitis (20-24).

Other diseases

F. proliferatum is able to cause opportunistic disease; a case report showed that a 78-year old patient presenting with fever as the only symptom fungemia in (25). In two other reports F. proliferatum caused fungus ball sinusitis (a non-invasive form of fungal rhinosinusitis) in three patients (26, 27). Fusarium spp. were isolated from 5,321 cases of fungal keratitis; of these, 155 were caused by F proliferatum (28). The related species Fusarium napiforme caused hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a 17-year old patient; the mold was isolated from the home environment (29).

F. proliferatum was identified as one of the two most likely Fusarium species that cause fusariosis in European countries (12).

Diagnostics Sensitization

The presence of allergen-specific antibodies is usually determined by skin prick tests (SPTs) and serology for IgE (16, 21). In a study of 571 patients with a history of atopy, 42.5% had a positive SPT result to mold allergens, including Fusarium spp. (21). In another study using SPTs in 85 patients with a history suspicious of inhalant allergies, 23.5% tested positive to Fusarium spp. Of the patients testing positive to Fusarium spp., 15.3% were found to have concomitant allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema or allergic conjunctivitis (20)

Prevention and Therapy

Allergen immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is currently not recommended for patients allergic to molds, due to complexities of the allergens and patient co-allergies (16).

Prevention strategies

Avoidance is difficult to achieve (16), due to the wide range of environments in which Fusarium spp. can be found (18).

Molecular Aspects

Allergenic molecules

Two allergens from F. proliferatum have been described; a transaldolase (37.5kDa), which showed IgE binding of 47% in serum of respiratory atopic patients (22). Another allergen was described as a vacuolar serine protease (36.5kDa), which was recognized by IgE from serum of patients with asthma and/or rhinitis (23).

Table adapted from Allergome.org (30).

Allergen	Type	Mass (kDa)
Fus p 4	Transaldolase	37.5
Fus p 9	Serine protease	36.5

Cross-reactivity

Cross-reactivity has been demonstrated to other molds. In a study carried out on 668 serum samples from patients which who had previously recorded at least one IgE positivity to fungal antigens, associations were observed between the patterns of IgE sensitization and fungal phylogenetic relationships. Using a panel of 17 fungal extracts including F. proliferatum, some samples were only positive to one fungal species, whereas many were multi-sensitized. The results suggest that the associations are likely due to antigen cross-reactivity between fungal species, not uncommon in more closely related species (19). In another study, IgE from patients with a history of respiratory allergies (asthma and/or rhinitis) showed cross-reactivity between a F. proliferatum serine protease and a Penicillium spp. antigen (23).

Compiled By

Author: RubyDuke Communications

Reviewer: Dr. Christian Fischer

Last reviewed:April 2022

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