eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia 0973-1245 2014-08-28 11 1 10026 article Kanesan Panneer Selvam 1 Y. Randhir Babu Singh 2 Coimbatore Subramanian Shobana 2 Nair Kalesh Karunakaran 2 Csaba Vágvölgyi 3 László Kredics 3 Department of Microbiology, MR Government Arts College, Mannargudi - 614 001, India Department of Microbiology, Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science, Coimbatore – 641 014, India. Faculty of Science and Informatics, Department of Microbiology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. Department of Medical Laboratory, Applied Medical Sciences College, Majmaah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Department of Microbiology, Aravind Eye Hospital and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Coimbatore - 641 014, Tamilnadu, India The incidence of Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis is on alarming rise with its burden increasing by the fact that they can produce an array of extra cellular enzymes and mycotoxins which act as virulence factors. In this context, 154 isolates of Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp. were screened for extracellular enzymes production. Further, representative isolates from the two genera were analyzed for mycotoxin production. Both genera were able to produce an array of extracellular enzymes. It was noted that protease and lipase are actively involved in Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis. Aflatoxins were detected from Aspergillus spp., however no mycotoxins were detected from Fusarium spp. The study concludes that the extra cellular protease and lipase are cause of concern since it play important roles in pathogenesis of Fusarium and Aspergillus keratitis. https://www.biotech-asia.org/vol11no2/extracellular-enzymes-and-mycotoxins-as-virulence-factors-in-fusarium-and-aspergillus-keratitis/ Fusarium; Aspergillus; Keratitis; Extracellular enzymes; Mycotoxins