Molecular and structural contrasts for fungal strain characterization
ORAL
Abstract
Fungal strains exhibit distinct structural and molecular features. Multi-scale optical imaging—combining reflectance hyperspectral imaging (HSI), fluorescence HSI, and optical coherence tomography (OCT)—can reveal these differences, enabling strain characterization and differentiation. Applications range from clinical diagnosis of skin and soft tissue infections to laboratory analysis of cultured strains.
In this pilot study, we investigated Candida, Aspergillus, Malassezia, and Trichophyton strains cultivated under controlled laboratory conditions using white-light reflectance HSI, fluorescence HSI, 3D laser profilometry (LP), and OCT. Reflectance HSI (400–1000 nm) captured spectral variations linked to scattering and absorption, reflecting both structural and metabolic differences. OCT provided subsurface architectural details, including hyphal morphology, with ~10 µm resolution. LP enabled quantitative assessment of colony shape and size with ~0.1 mm precision. Fluorescence imaging (395 nm excitation; 400–650 nm emission) revealed characteristic genus-specific patterns, particularly in the central and hyphal-ring regions of Aspergillus colonies.
These results demonstrate the potential of multi-scale optical imaging for noninvasive fungal strain characterization and support its integration into clinical workflows.
In this pilot study, we investigated Candida, Aspergillus, Malassezia, and Trichophyton strains cultivated under controlled laboratory conditions using white-light reflectance HSI, fluorescence HSI, 3D laser profilometry (LP), and OCT. Reflectance HSI (400–1000 nm) captured spectral variations linked to scattering and absorption, reflecting both structural and metabolic differences. OCT provided subsurface architectural details, including hyphal morphology, with ~10 µm resolution. LP enabled quantitative assessment of colony shape and size with ~0.1 mm precision. Fluorescence imaging (395 nm excitation; 400–650 nm emission) revealed characteristic genus-specific patterns, particularly in the central and hyphal-ring regions of Aspergillus colonies.
These results demonstrate the potential of multi-scale optical imaging for noninvasive fungal strain characterization and support its integration into clinical workflows.
*The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding No. P1-0389 and project N3-0348).
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Presenters
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Jost Stergar
- Jozef Stefan Institute