Cryptococcus gattii VGII isolated from native forest and river in Northern Brazil

Abstract

Background Cryptococcosis is a global invasive mycosis associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the northern region of Brazil, this disease is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans genotype VNI and Cryptococcus gattii genotype VGII. However, few environmental studies have been conducted in this large tropical area. Aims This study was performed to isolate, genotype, and determine the frequency of cryptococcal agents in environmental samples near Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Methods A total of 970 environmental samples (290 from soil, 290 from decaying plants, 5 from insects, 280 from the Negro river, and 105 from small streams within the city of Manaus) were collected and plated on Niger seed agar. In addition, 20 subcultures obtained from each positive sample were analyzed by PCR-RFLP (URA5) and PCR for genotyping and determination of mating type. Results Six samples were positive for isolates from the C. gattii species complex. Of those, three samples were from Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve and three were from the Negro river. All isolates were C. gattii genotype VGII (mating type MATα). Conclusion Genotype VGII proved to be the most important genotype found in the environmental samples. The genotype VGII has been described as one of the most virulent and less susceptible to antifungals and responsible for important outbreaks. This is the first study to demonstrate isolation of C. gattii (VGII) from the Negro river.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analyses of environmental and clinical isolates of Cryptococcus gattii sensu lato in Taiwan

“…l . has also been reported in river water surrounding the natural niches 42,47 . Despite the factors that promote dispersal of C .…”

“…l . was also isolated from an ant, insect frass and a nest of wasp, suggesting potential insect‐mediated dispersal 45‐47 . Presence of C .…”

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii Species Complexes in Latin America: A Map of Molecular Types, Genotypic Diversity, and Antifungal Susceptibility as Reported by the Latin American Cryptococcal Study Group

“…To date, 106 publications have reported the major molecular type of 5686 isolates of C. neoformans and C. gattii from Latin America, identified mostly by RFLP (57.14%). From those, 65 publications were retrieved from the revision on cryptococcosis in Latin America and 41 were found afterwards [ 15 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , …”

Comparison of Cryptococcus gattii/neoformans Species Complex to Related Genera (Papiliotrema and Naganishia) Reveal Variances in Virulence Associated Factors and Antifungal Susceptibility

“…Regarding the C. gattii / neoformans species complex isolates (clades I and II), which comprised the vast majority of the clinical isolates, BLAST searches showed that our C. gattii isolates (clade I) belonged to the VGII genotype, named as C. deuterogatti ( Hagen et al., 2015 ). This is the main species recovered in Brazil from both environmental and clinical samples (Dos Freire et al., 2012 ; Maruyama et al., 2019 ; Santos Bentes et al., 2019 ). Following the same trend of other studies performed in Brazil ( Cogliati, 2013 ; Alves et al., 2016 ; Ferreira-Paim et al., 2017 ), our C. neoformans strains were all considered the former C .…”

“…The genus Cryptococcus includes several species distributed around the world and found in different environments ( Chee and Lee, 2005 ; Loperena-Alvarez et al., 2010 ), such as bird droppings (mainly pigeons) ( Irokanulo et al., 1997 ; Soltani et al., 2013 ; Kassi et al., 2018 ), soil, rivers, decomposing vegetation and tree hollows ( Lazera et al., 1998 ; Kidd et al., 2007 ; Alves et al., 2016 ; Santos Bentes et al., 2019 ). Recently, Hagen et al.…”