Fungi of the Alternaria genus are mostly associated with allergic diseases. However, with a growing number of immunocompromised patients, these fungi, with A. alternata being the most prevalent one, are increasingly recognized as etiological agents of infections (phaeohyphomycoses) in humans. Nowadays, identification of Alternaria spp. requires their pure culture and is solely based on morphological criteria. Clinically, Alternaria...

Purpose Fungi of Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera cause a wide range of infections, with S. brevicaulis being the most prevalent aetiological agent of mould onychomycosis. Proper identification of these pathogens requires sporulating culture, which considerably delays the diagnosis. So far, sequencing of rDNA regions of clinical isolates has produced ambiguous results due to the lack of reference sequences in publicly available...

OBJECTIVES Scopulariopsis species and their teleomorphs of the genus Microascus are commonly isolated from soil, decaying plant material and indoor environments. Moreover, certain Scopulariopsis and Microascus species are recognised as opportunistic human pathogens. Although most species can be identified by detailed morphological study, phenotypic characters appear to overlap in several cases and morphology seems to be insufficient...