{
  "abstract": "Aspergillus flavus is a ubiquitous fungus commonly found in a variety of ecological niches including soil, crops, the air, and humans. In humans, it is the second leading cause of invasive aspergillosis (IA) and is linked to other illnesses through contamination of agricultural products with aflatoxins. As such, A. flavus threatens food safety, economic wellbeing, and human health, particularly in less developed regions and countries such as Cameroon. To mitigate these effects, farmers and clinicians rely on triazoles to reduce aflatoxin contamination and treat IA. However, a consequence of increasing triazole use is the emergence and spread of triazole resistance in both agriculture and clinics. To identify the prevalence of triazole resistance and the potential genetic relationships among triazole resistant and susceptible strains, this study investigated antifungal susceptibility to both clinical and agricultural triazoles and analyzed genetic variation among various ecological niche populations of A. flavus in Cameroon. Strain genotypes were obtained through analysis of six polymorphic microsatellite markers. Our analyses revealed that 30.3% (17/56) of the strains were resistant to at least one of the four triazoles, with increased minimum inhibitory concentrations found among crop-isolated strains. A Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance suggested limited ecological niche-based clustering of genotypes, consistent with frequent gene flow and dispersal among ecological niches. A multilocus linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed evidence of non-random recombination in A. flavus. Overall, this study elucidates the interplay between ecological pressures, antifungal resistance, and genetic differentiation, and invites alternative methods to control aflatoxin contamination in foods without the use of agricultural fungicides.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon",
    "Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre (CIRCB) for Research on HIV/AIDS prevention and management, Yaoundé, Cameroon",
    "Higher Teacher Training College (ENS), University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon",
    "Molecular Biology Center (MBC), Yaoundé, Cameroon",
    "Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marius P. Ngouanom Kuate"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kesini Ramkumar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jezreel Dalmieda"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Javeriya Nadeem"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Javid Hemmati"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Celine N. Nkenfou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roland N. Ndip"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jianping Xu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bqdqx4aa7ayt.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0355362",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4bqdqx4aa7ayt",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355362",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2725|Antifungal resistance and susceptibility"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Agriculture/Agrochemicals/Fungicides"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Ecological niches"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Evolutionary biology/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Fungal genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Plant genetics/Crop genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbial pathogens/Fungal pathogens/Aspergillus flavus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Microbial control/Antimicrobials/Antifungals"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Mycology/Antifungals"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Mycology/Fungal genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Mycology/Fungal pathogens/Aspergillus flavus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Fungi/Fungal molds/Aspergillus/Aspergillus flavus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Plants/Grasses/Maize"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Plant science/Plant genetics/Crop genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Population biology/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecological niches"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Fungal pathogens/Aspergillus flavus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pharmacology/Drugs/Antimicrobials/Antifungals"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Model organisms/Maize"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Plant and algal models/Maize"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Model organisms/Maize"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213449176",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0355362&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-17",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bqdqx4aa7ayt.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0355362",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355362"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:genetics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility among ecological niche populations of Aspergillus flavus in Yaoundé, Cameroon",
  "title_text": "Genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility among ecological niche populations of Aspergillus flavus in Yaoundé, Cameroon",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bqdqx4aa7ayt",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}