Sporothrix schenckii, now named the S. schenckii species complex, has largely been known as the etiological agent of sporotrichosis, which is an acute or chronic subcutaneous mycosis of humans and other mammals. Gene sequencing has revealed the following species in the S. schenckii complex: Sporothrix albicans, Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix globosa, Sporothrix luriei, Sporothrix mexicana and S. schenckii. The increasing number of reports of Sporothrix infection in immunocompromised patients, mainly the HIV-infected population, suggests sporotrichosis as an emerging global health problem concomitant with the AIDS pandemic. Molecular studies have demonstrated a high level of intraspecific variability. Components of the S. schenckii cell wall that act as adhesins and immunogenic inducers, such as a 70-kDa glycoprotein, are apparently specific to this fungus. The main glycan peptidorhamnomannan cell wall component is the only O-linked glycan structure known in S. schenckii. It contains an α-mannobiose core followed by one α-glucuronic acid unit, which may be mono- or di-rhamnosylated. The oligomeric structure of glucosamine-6-P synthase has led to a significant advance in the development of antifungals targeted to the enzyme's catalytic domain in S. schenckii.

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis especially frequent in Latin American countries with temperate and tropical climates. Due to the presence of Sporothrix schenckii fungal elements in vegetative matter, this disease is associated with different occupations such as gardening, forestry, and fieldwork (3,6,9,11,16,27). In Mexico (MX), Guatemala (GT), and Colombia (CO), it is a relevant mycosis mainly in farmers who work with a variety of vegetation in the field and individuals who manipulate fungus-contaminated material (10, 17, 21, 37). The fungus has been isolated from soil, different plants, and sphagnum moss (9,11,16,19,20), and when it is introduced into the host via trauma, the mycelial-saprophytic form changes to the yeast-parasitic form. Previous reports have demonstrated other forms of inoculation of infecting mycelia, such as mosquito bites and, probably, cat scratches, as recently demonstrated by molecular techniques in Brazil (R. S. Reis, T. M. P. Schubach, A. J. Guimarães, P. C. F. Monteiro, and R. M. Zancopé-Oliveira, Abstr. 14th Congr. Int. Soc. Hum. Anim. Mycol., abstr. 498, p. 133, 2000). Although the prevalence of this mycosis among AIDS patients is low, it is extremely serious in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients and becomes disseminated, with a poor prognosis (30).Researchers from Japan and the United States have performed epidemiological studies with S. schenckii isolates from Asia, the United States, and Australia based on restriction fragment length polymorphisms. They have shown 24 different genotypes divided into two groups: group A includes isolates from the United States, and group B includes isolates from Asia and Australia (12, 13; H. Ishizaki, H., M. Aoki, J. Lin, S. Wu, and J. A. Kim, Abstr. 14th Congr. Int. Soc. Hum. Anim. Mycol., abstr. 56, p. 120, 2000). Kawasaki et al. (M. Kawasaki, R. Arenas, C. Zaitz, J. T. Yamashita, and C. Rubio, Abstr. 14th Congr. Int. Soc. Hum. Anim. Mycol., abstr. 54, p. 120, 2000) also studied by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis isolates from Brazil, Mexico, and Spain, and again, two groups were formed: isolates from Brazil and Mexico were in group A, and those from Spain were in group B. Despite the widespread use of the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis method for genotypic characterization of other pathogenic fungi (5,18,23,25,34), identical DNA patterns for clinical isolates and isolates from infecting cats were

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BackgroundCoccidioidomycosis, a potentially fatal fungal infection, is considered an emergent mycotic disease because of the increased incidence of fungal infections registered over recent years. Infection occurs through the inhalation of arthroconidia from two main species of Coccidioides: Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which are both endemic to arid and semi-arid regions of North America. Coccidioides species not only infect humans but can also infect other mammals (land, aquatic, wild or domestic), reptiles and birds.ObjectiveTo obtain information regarding the habitat of Coccidioides spp. and the animals infected by this fungus and to identify the role that infected animals play as reservoirs and disseminators of this fungus in nature.MaterialsA literature review was conducted to identify the habitat of Coccidioides spp. and the infected non-human animal species targeted by this fungus.Results and conclusionsThis review allows us to suggest that Coccidioides spp. may be classified as halotolerant organisms; nevertheless, to perpetuate their life cycle, these organisms depend on different animal species (reservoirs) that serve as a link with the environment, by acting as disseminators of the fungi in nature.

Fourteen Histoplasma capsulatum isolates recovered from infected bats captured in Mexican caves and two human H. capsulatum reference strains were analyzed using random amplification of polymorphic DNA PCR-based and partial DNA sequences of four genes. Cluster analysis of random amplification of polymorphic DNA-patterns revealed differences for two H. capsulatum isolates of one migratory bat Tadarida brasiliensis. Three groups were identified by distance and maximum-parsimony analyses of arf, H-anti, ole, and tub1 H. capsulatum genes. Group I included most isolates from infected bats and one clinical strain from central Mexico; group II included the two isolates from T. brasiliensis; the human G-217B reference strain from USA formed an independent group III. Isolates from group II showed diversity in relation to groups I and III, suggesting a different H. capsulatum population.