{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:44:01Z","timestamp":1787791441051,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,22]],"date-time":"2021-11-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1637539200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"Japan Society for the Promotion of Science","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["19K07140JP, 21H02733JP, 15H05783"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["19K07140JP, 21H02733JP, 15H05783"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mucormycosis, a rare but highly fatal infection, is caused by fungi of the order Mucorales. Due to their ubiquitous nature, reduced susceptibility to antifungals, acid tolerance, and ability to infect immunocompromised patients through rapid dissemination, these fungi have been frequently reported to infect the COVID-19 patients. In order to develop strategies to overcome mucormycosis, it is essential to understand and identify novel Mucorales present in the environment. In this study, we report the identification of four novel pathogenic Mucorales using the silkworm (Bombyx mori) model. The strains\u2019 phylogeny was analyzed using the genome sequence of the large subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (LSU rRNA) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, where strains 1-3, 5-3, and S286-1101 claded with Mucor orantomantidis, and strain 827-14 claded with Backusella lamprospora. All the strains had a cold-sensitive phenotype with their inability to grow prominently at 4 \u00b0C. Mucor sp. 1-3 and 5-3 were characterized by their filamentous and yeast-like growth under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. The yeast colonies of Mucor sp. 5-3 had multipolar budding cells often observed with cleaved cell surfaces under a scanning electron microscope. We further found that these strains were able to kill immunocompromised mice suggesting their pathogenicity to mammals. Our study established an invertebrate model-based screening system to identify novel pathogenic Mucorales from the natural environment and provided a clue towards the rapid increase in COVID-19 related mucormycosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof7110995","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,1]],"date-time":"2021-12-01T01:43:22Z","timestamp":1638323002000},"page":"995","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Novel Pathogenic Mucorales Identified Using the Silkworm Infection Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4021-7936","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Suresh","family":"Panthee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Discoveries by Silkworm Models, Faculty of Pharma-Science, Teikyo University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9315-7442","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hiroshi","family":"Hamamoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Mycology, Teikyo University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yayoi","family":"Nishiyama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Mycology, Teikyo University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3478-9452","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Atmika","family":"Paudel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazuhisa","family":"Sekimizu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Discoveries by Silkworm Models, Faculty of Pharma-Science, Teikyo University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s13225-019-00421-w","article-title":"Fungal diversity notes 929\u20131035: Taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungi","volume":"95","author":"Phookamsak","year":"2019","journal-title":"Fungal Divers."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"ii27","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkz041","article-title":"Diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infections: Looking ahead","volume":"74","author":"Sanguinetti","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. 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