Growth and Mating of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii on Woody Debris

Botes, Angela; Boekhout, Teun; Hagen, Ferry; Vismer, H. F.; Swart, J. P. J.; Botha, Alfred

doi:10.1007/s00248-008-9452-1

Cited by 26 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Environmental isolates have been obtained from Africa (33,(110)(111)(112), Asia (76,77,108), Australia (26,110,(113)(114)(115)(116)(117)(118), Europe (110,119,120), North America (38,110,121), and South America (122). In addition, it has been shown that plant material promotes fertility (108,(123)(124)(125) and may render C. gattii strains more pathogenic (125). Molecular types VGI and VGII are those most commonly associated with a wide variety of tree species (74,110,126).…”

Section: Environmental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryptococcus gattii Infections

2014

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SUMMARY Understanding of the taxonomy and phylogeny of Cryptococcus gattii has been advanced by modern molecular techniques. C. gattii probably diverged from Cryptococcus neoformans between 16 million and 160 million years ago, depending on the dating methods applied, and maintains diversity by recombining in nature. South America is the likely source of the virulent C. gattii VGII molecular types that have emerged in North America. C. gattii shares major virulence determinants with C. neoformans , although genomic and transcriptomic studies revealed that despite similar genomes, the VGIIa and VGIIb subtypes employ very different transcriptional circuits and manifest differences in virulence phenotypes. Preliminary evidence suggests that C. gattii VGII causes severe lung disease and death without dissemination, whereas C. neoformans disseminates readily to the central nervous system (CNS) and causes death from meningoencephalitis. Overall, currently available data indicate that the C. gattii VGI, VGII, and VGIII molecular types more commonly affect nonimmunocompromised hosts, in contrast to VGIV. New, rapid, cheap diagnostic tests and imaging modalities are assisting early diagnosis and enabling better outcomes of cerebral cryptococcosis. Complications of CNS infection include increased intracranial pressure, severe neurological sequelae, and development of immune reconstitution syndrome, although the mortality rate is low. C. gattii VGII isolates may exhibit higher fluconazole MICs than other genotypes. Optimal therapeutic regimens are yet to be determined; in most cases, initial therapy with amphotericin B and 5-flucytosine is recommended.

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Section: Environmental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryptococcus gattii Infections

2014

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“…Geographic distribution of the molecular types identified in Africa (c). Molecular typing data have been combined from the following references: Senegal [14], Republic Democratic of Congo [11, 53], Uganda [53, 57], Rwanda [11], Tanzania [53], Malawi [53, 58, 59], Zimbabwe [11], Botswana [53, 58, 60, 61], and South Africa [11, 15, 38, 60, 62, 63]. …”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Global Molecular Epidemiology ofCryptococcus neoformansandCryptococcus gattii: An Atlas of the Molecular Types

2013

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Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease affecting more than one million people per year worldwide. The main etiological agents of cryptococcosis are the two sibling species Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii that present numerous differences in geographical distribution, ecological niches, epidemiology, pathobiology, clinical presentation and molecular characters. Genotyping of the two Cryptococcus species at subspecies level supplies relevant information to understand how this fungus has spread worldwide, the nature of its population structure, and how it evolved to be a deadly pathogen. At present, nine major molecular types have been recognized: VNI, VNII, VNB, VNIII, and VNIV among C. neoformans isolates, and VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV among C. gattii isolates. In this paper all the information available in the literature concerning the isolation of the two Cryptococcus species has been collected and analyzed on the basis of their geographical origin, source of isolation, level of identification, species, and molecular type. A detailed analysis of the geographical distribution of the major molecular types in each continent has been described and represented on thematic maps. This study represents a useful tool to start new epidemiological surveys on the basis of the present knowledge.

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“…It is not known if Malassezia has a similar life cycle. However, Cryptococcus isolates are often associated with trees (in particular, Eucalyptus) (33,87,100), and the recent demonstration that Cryptococcus can complete its life cycle when cultured on woody debris (25) suggests that there may be a general link between plants and mating in some of the Basidiomycota.…”

Section: Malassezia and Ustilagomentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Sex and Pathogenesis

Butler

2010

Clin Microbiol Rev

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SUMMARYHuman fungal pathogens are associated with diseases ranging from dandruff and skin colonization to invasive bloodstream infections. The major human pathogens belong to theCandida,Aspergillus, andCryptococcusclades, and infections have high and increasing morbidity and mortality. Many human fungal pathogens were originally assumed to be asexual. However, recent advances in genome sequencing, which revealed that many species have retained the genes required for the sexual machinery, have dramatically influenced our understanding of the biology of these organisms. Predictions of a rare or cryptic sexual cycle have been supported experimentally for some species. Here, I examine the evidence that human pathogens reproduce sexually. The evolution of the mating-type locus in ascomycetes (includingCandidaandAspergillusspecies) and basidiomycetes (MalasseziaandCryptococcus) is discussed. I provide an overview of how sex is suppressed in different species and discuss the potential associations with pathogenesis.

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Growth and Mating of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii on Woody Debris

Cited by 26 publications

References 43 publications

Cryptococcus gattii Infections

Cryptococcus gattii Infections

Global Molecular Epidemiology ofCryptococcus neoformansandCryptococcus gattii: An Atlas of the Molecular Types

Fungal Sex and Pathogenesis

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