Evidence that the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii may have evolved in Africa.

ABSTRACT: Most of the species of fungi that cause disease in mammals, including Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii (serotype A), are exogenous and non-contagious. Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii is associated worldwide with avian and arboreal habitats. This airborne, opportunistic pathogen is profoundly neurotropic and the leading cause of fungal meningitis. Patients with HIV/AIDS have been ravaged by cryptococcosis--an estimated one million new cases occur each year, and mortality approaches 50%. Using phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, we present evidence that C. neoformans var. grubii may have evolved from a diverse population in southern Africa. Our ecological studies support the hypothesis that a few of these strains acquired a new environmental reservoir, the excreta of feral p

SUBMITTER: Litvintseva AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3092753 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature