The genus Wallemia—from contamination of food to health threat

Zajc, Janja (author), Gunde-Cimerman, Nina (author)

The fungal genus Wallemia of the order Wallemiales (Wallemiomycotina, Basidiomycota) comprises the most xerotolerant, xerophilic and also halophilic species worldwide. Wallemia spp. are found in various osmotically challenged environments, such as dry, salted, or highly sugared foods, dry feed, hypersaline waters of solar salterns, salt crystals, indoor and outdoor air, and agriculture aerosols. Recently, eight species were recognized for the genus Wallemia, among which four are commonly associated with foods: W. sebi, W. mellicola, W. muriae and W. ichthyophaga. To date, only strains of W. sebi, W. mellicola and W. muriae have been reported to be related to human health problems, as either allergological conditions (e.g., farmer’s lung disease) or rare subcutaneous/cutaneous infections. Therefore, this allergological and infective potential, together with the toxins that the majority of Wallemia spp. produce even under saline conditions, defines these fungi as filamentous food-borne pathogenic fungi.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Wallemia, food, air, pathogen, xerophile, halophile, mycotoxin, farmerʼs lung disease, subcutaneous infection
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2018
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 6, iss. 2, art. 46
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-131728
• UDC: 579
• ISSN on article: 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms6020046
• COBISS.SI-ID: 4702287
• Publication date in RUL: 01.10.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Microorganisms
• Shortened title: Microorganisms
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2076-2607
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523277081

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.06.2018