Determining Potential Link between Environmental and Clinical Isolates of < em > Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii < /em > Species Complexes Using Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterisation

We report an unusual prevalence of 42.1% of C. neoformans x C. deneoformans hybrids Serotype AD (n = 16), followed by 39.5% of C. neoformans Serotype A (n = 15), 5.3% of C. deneoformans, Serotype D (n = 2), 7.9% of C. gattii (n = 3), and 5.3% of C. tetragattii (n = 2) in 38 representative isolates that have been characterized. Mating type-specific PCR performed on 38 representative environmental and clinical isolates revealed that 16 (42.1%) were MATa/MATĪ± hybrids, 17 (44.7%) were MATĪ±, and five (13.2%) possessed MATa mating type. We used conventional and NGS platforms to demonstrate a potential link between environmental and clinical isolates and lay a foundation to further describe mating patterns/history in Botswana.PMID:38179115 | PMC:PMC10763847 | DOI:10.1080/12298093.2023.2272380
Source: Mycobiology - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: research