Deciphering the Model Pathogenic Fungus Cryptococcus Neoformans

Idnurm, Alexander; Bahn, Yong-Sun; Nielsen, Kirsten; Lin, Xiaorong; Fraser, James S.; Heitman, Joseph

doi:10.1038/nrmicro1245

Cited by 314 publications

(291 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…Mating type α-specific primer was used here and yielded a 101bp MATα fragment in all cases, showing that all C. neoformans isolates were MATα, consistently with a previous study showing that MATα is more frequent than MATa among clinical as well as environmental isolates 12,25,27,42 . Information about the mating-types of C. neoformans strains is important for an understanding of their ecology and virulence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Genotyping, serotyping and determination of mating-type of Cryptococcus neoformans clinical isolates from São Paulo State, Brazil

Matsumoto

Fusco‐Almeida

Baeza

et al. 2007

Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo

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SUMMARYThe basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is an important fungal pathogen mainly in immunocompromised patients. In this study, 47 clinical isolates of C. neoformans from regions of São Paulo State were studied serologically by using the Crypto Check Iatron RM 304-K kit, their genetic diversity was estimated by PCR-fingerprinting with a microsatellite-specific sequence (GACA) 4 , RAPD with primer 6 (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech), PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the phospholipase B gene (PLB1) digested with AvaI and mating type analysis by PCR. All 47 strains isolated from HIV positive patients included in this study were serotype A and MATα. The majority of the isolates (45/47) were VNI and only two were VNII by PCR-fingerprinting and PCR-RFLP analysis. High degree of homogeneity was observed when (GACA) 4 was used, being highly correlated (> 0.9). In contrast, the RAPD analysis was more heterogeneous with higher number of molecular profiles. By PCR-RFLP, no new molecular type was found, enhancing the suggestion that the differences based on conserved gene as PLB1, can be resultant of ongoing divergent evolution within the C. neoformans complex, into the current eight subtypes. Our results furnish new information on the molecular epidemiology of C. neoformans in the southeast region of Brazil.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Genotyping, serotyping and determination of mating-type of Cryptococcus neoformans clinical isolates from São Paulo State, Brazil

Matsumoto

Fusco‐Almeida

Baeza

et al. 2007

Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo

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“…The high fertility rate obtained using A. benhamiae isolates with a white phenotype suggests that genetic exchanges could occur in nature. An unequal prevalence of the two opposite mating types has also been observed in other pathogenic fungal species such as Cryptococcus neoformans (Idnurm et al, 2005), Cryptococcus gattii and Histoplasma capsulatum (Kwon-Chung et al, 1974). The prevalence of one mating type may be due to differences in their pathogenicity (Rippon & Garber, 1969).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dermatophyte species Arthroderma benhamiae: intraspecies variability and mating behaviour

Symoens

Jousson

Packeu

et al. 2013

Journal of Medical Microbiology

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Arthroderma benhamiae is a zoophilic dermatophyte belonging to the Trichophyton mentagrophytes species complex. Here, a population of A. benhamiae wild strains from the same geographical area (Switzerland) was studied by comparing their morphology, assessing their molecular variability using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S rRNA gene sequencing, and evaluating their interfertility. Sequencing of the ITS region and of part of the 28S rRNA gene revealed the existence of two infraspecific groups with markedly different colony phenotypes: white (group I) and yellow (group II), respectively. For all strains, the results of mating type identification by PCR, using HMG (high-mobility group) and a-box genes in the mating type locus as targets, were in total accordance with the results of mating type identification by strain confrontation experiments. White-phenotype strains were of mating type + (mt+) or mating type " (mt"), whilst yellow-phenotype strains were all mt". White and yellow strains were found to produce fertile cleistothecia after mating with A. benhamiae reference tester strains, which belonged to a third group intermediate between groups I and II. However, no interfertility was observed between yellow strains and white strains of mt+. A significant result was that white strains of mt" were able to mate and produce fertile cleistothecia with the white A. benhamiae strain CBS 112371 (mt+), the genome of which has recently been sequenced and annotated. This finding should offer new tools for investigating the biology and genetics of dermatophytes using wild-type strains.

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“…Other fungal phyla, particularly Basidiomycota, include important, well-characterized plant and animal pathogens (e.g., Ustilago maydis and Cryptococcus neoformans). These are reviewed extensively elsewhere (28,41). Far less is known about the diseases caused by fungi from other phyla, including zygomycete diseases of humans and chytrid diseases of amphibians, as these are uncommon and are also challenging systems for experimental work.…”

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confidence: 99%