Research Highlights
Human Activity, Not Environmental Factors, Drives Scedosporium and Lomentospora Distribution in Taiwan
🎉 Congratulations to our department graduate Hsin-Mao Wu (currently a graduate student at NTU Department of Forestry) and research team (jointly supervised by Prof. Yin-Tse Huang from our department and Prof. Ying-Hong Lin from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology) for their latest study published in Medical Mycology (5-year IF=3.2, top 10% in veterinary sciences)! This research delves into the influence of human activity on the distribution of emerging fungal pathogens.
🔬 Scedosporium and Lomentospora species are emerging opportunistic fungal pathogens capable of causing severe systemic infections in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. These fungi have been included in the World Health Organization's Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL), highlighting their global importance and status as research priority species.
📊 This study systematically evaluated the relative influence of human activity versus environmental factors on fungal distribution through analysis of 406 soil samples from 132 locations across Taiwan, combined with soil physicochemical parameter analysis and quantitative assessment using the Human Footprint Index (HFI).
🦠 Key findings include:
● Human activity, rather than soil physical and chemical properties, is the primary driver of Scedosporium/Lomentospora distribution
● The highest fungal burdens were observed in urban environments, particularly in public spaces and healthcare facilities (up to 1293 CFU/g)
● A total of 236 fungal isolates comprising 10 species were recovered, with S. boydii (32.2%), S. apiospermum (30.9%), and S. dehoogii (14.4%) being the most prevalent
● A significant positive correlation between fungal abundance and HFI (r = 0.143, P = .005) was observed
⚕️ These findings hold important implications for predicting infection risks and developing targeted public health strategies, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions. Future studies will further explore the mechanisms underlying these distribution patterns, helping to mitigate public health threats from emerging pathogens.
📁 For more details on this study, please read the full paper: Wu et al. (2025) Human activity, not environmental factors, drives Scedosporium and Lomentospora distribution in Taiwan. Medical Mycology, 63, myaf022. https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myaf022
Figure. Distribution and prevalence of Scedosporium/Lomentospora species in Taiwan. (A) Mean CFU (filled) and Shannon diversity index (circle border) per location; locations with CFU > 200 are labeled; circle size indicates sample size. (B) Percentage of culture-positive samples by land use type. (C) Species frequencies among 236 isolates.
