Microevolution of Serial Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii.

ABSTRACT: The pathogenic species of Cryptococcus are a major cause of mortality owing to severe infections in immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent individuals. Although antifungal treatment is usually effective, many patients relapse after treatment, and in such cases, comparative analyses of the genomes of incident and relapse isolates may reveal evidence of determinative, microevolutionary changes within the host. Here, we analyzed serial isolates cultured from cerebrospinal fluid specimens of 18 South African patients with recurrent cryptococcal meningitis. The time between collection of the incident isolates and collection of the relapse isolates ranged from 124 days to 290 days, and the analyses revealed that, during this period within the patients, the isolates underwent several

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5340869 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature