Genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility among ecological niche populations of Aspergillus flavus in Yaoundé, Cameroon
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 2Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- 3Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre (CIRCB) for Research on HIV/AIDS prevention and management, Yaoundé, Cameroon
- 4Higher Teacher Training College (ENS), University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon
- 5Molecular Biology Center (MBC), Yaoundé, Cameroon
- 6Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa
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.
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BibTeX
@article{kuate2026genetic,
title = {{Genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility among ecological niche populations of Aspergillus flavus in Yaoundé, Cameroon}},
author = {Marius P. Ngouanom Kuate and Kesini Ramkumar and Jezreel Dalmieda and Javeriya Nadeem and Javid Hemmati and Celine N. Nkenfou and Roland N. Ndip and Jianping Xu},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0355362},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355362},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility among ecological niche populations of Aspergillus flavus in Yaoundé, Cameroon
AU - Marius P. Ngouanom Kuate
AU - Kesini Ramkumar
AU - Jezreel Dalmieda
AU - Javeriya Nadeem
AU - Javid Hemmati
AU - Celine N. Nkenfou
AU - Roland N. Ndip
AU - Jianping Xu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0355362
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355362
AB - 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.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -