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Due to the increase in the number of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus, there is an urgent need of data to predict future trends and prevent further spreading. The intercountry transfer of resistant A. fumigatus on plant bulbs have been reported. We investigated existence and characteristics of resistant isolates attached to agricultural products imported to Japan. We purchased 292 samples in Japan. All samples were screened for the existence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus. For positive isolates, minimum inhibitory concentrations of the drugs were determined. We also analyzed Cyp51A, Hmg1, and Erg6 mutations of these isolates and conducted microsatellite genotyping. Fourteen azole-resistant isolates were detected, of which 13 were cultured from flower bulbs imported from the Netherlands. Among them 5 were from 11 bulbs of Hippeastrum (45.5%), 5 were from 24 bulbs of Gladiolus (20.8%), 2 were from 4 bulbs of Ixia (50.0%), and 1 was from 22 bulbs of Tulipa (4.5%). Only 1 resistant isolate was cultured from the 10 bulbs of Narcissus (10.0%) originating in Japan. Various novel mutations including Y121F/T289A in Cyp51A with no tandem repeat in promoter region were discovered from imported strains. Our study provides important data showing that agricultural imports provide a possible route for their intercontinental spread and raises the concern that strains harboring highly diverse Cyp51A mutations might increase in clinical settings in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study investigates the water scarcity footprint (WSF) trend of German agricultural imports over recent years, following the principles of the ISO 14046 standard on water footprinting. For this purpose, the import statistics of agricultural goods for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 was compiled and linked with the irrigation water consumption during their production as well as with the AWARE water scarcity factors of the country of production. Agricultural imports increased by 62% from 22 to 35 million tons during the analysed period. At the same time, the blue water consumption for agricultural production (i.e., irrigation water) decreased by 13% and the WSF declined by 20%, from 119 to 91 km3 world-equivalents (world-eq.). The decrease in WSF is caused by drop in the cotton imports, while the WSF associated with the imports of other crops increased by 45%. Product-wise, cotton, nuts, and rice contribute to more than half of the total WSF in all analysed years. Despite their high WSF, these products account for only 3% of the imports by mass confirming the relevance of impact based water footprint assessments. Country-wise, main contributors change along the analysed years. In the year 2000, one-quarter of the WSF occurs in Uzbekistan due to cotton imports. Afterwards, the highest WSF arises in Iran and Spain, while the imports from the US dominate the WSF in 2015. The changing trend follows the pattern of production of the hotspots identified on the product level, e.g. nuts, soybeans, and cotton. This study provides information on the water scarcity impacts that the German consumption creates in other countries and may be useful for decision-making processes aiming at optimising water scarcity footprints. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Water Scarcity Footprint (WSF) of German agricultural imports was calculated. • WSF decreased from 119 to 91 km3 world-eq. between 2000 and 2015. • The imports increased from 22 to 35 million tons between 2000 and 2015. • Imports of cotton , nuts , and rice contribute to almost half of the total WSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]