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Cryptococcosis is a major fungal disease caused by members of the Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes. After more than 15 years of molecular genetic and phenotypic studies and much debate, a proposal for a taxonomic revision was made.

Recent Cryptococcus gattii infections in humans and animals, including several outbreaks in goats, were the basis of this environmental survey in six provinces of Spain. A total of 479 samples from 20 tree species were studied. Cryptococcus gattii was found for the first time in autochthonous Mediterranean trees in Spain. Fourteen isolates of this pathogen were obtained from seven trees of three different species: 12 from carob (Ceratonia siliqua), one from Mediterranean stone pine (Pinus halepensis) and another from eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). All C. gattii isolates were genotype AFLP4/VGI and mating type alpha, and were found to be genetically identical with C. gattii strains isolated from humans and animals in Spain. This supports the hypothesis that these trees may be a natural source for infection of humans and mammals in the Mediterranean area.

Introduction:Candida dubliniensis, a new species of Candida that has been recovered from several sites in healthy people, has been associated with recurrent episodes of oral candidiasis in AIDS and HIV-positive patients. This species is closely related to C. albicans. The enzymatic activity of C. dubliniensis in response to oxidative stress is of interest for the development of drugs to combat C. dubliniensis. Methods: Fluconazole-and amphotericin B-resistant strains were generated as described by FeketeForgács et al. (2000). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase assays were performed as described by McCord and Fridovich (1969) and Aebi (1984), respectively. Results: We demonstrated that superoxide dismutase (SOD) and cata lase activities were signifi cantly higher (p<0.05) in the fl uconazole-and amphotericin B-resistant strains of C. dubliniensis and C. albicans than in the sensitive strains. The catalase and SOD activities were also signifi cantly (p<0.01) higher in the sensitive and resistant C. albicans strains than in the respective C. dubliniensis strains. Conclusions: These data suggest that C. albicans is better protected from oxidative stress than C. dubliniensis and that fl uconazole, like amphotericin B, can induce oxidative stress in Candida; oxidative stress induces an adaptive response that results in a coordinated increase in catalase and SOD activities.