MLST-Based Population Genetic Analysis in a Global Context Reveals Clonality amongst < i > Cryptococcus neoformans < /i > var. < i > grubii < /i > VNI Isolates from HIV Patients in Southeastern Brazil

by Kennio Ferreira-Paim, Leonardo Andrade-Silva, Fernanda M. Fonseca, Thatiana B. Ferreira, Delio J. Mora, Juliana Andrade-Silva, Aziza Khan, Aiken Dao, Eduardo C. Reis, Margarete T. G. Almeida, Andre Maltos, Virmondes R. Junior, Luciana Trilles, Volker Rickerts, Ariya Chindamporn, Jane E. Sykes, Massimo Cogliati, Kirsten Nielsen, Teun Boekhout, Matthew Fisher, June Kwon-Chung, David M. Engelthaler, Marcia Laz éra, Wieland Meyer, Mario L. Silva-Vergara Cryptococcosis is an important fungal infection in immunocompromised individuals, especially those infected with HIV. In Brazil, despite the free availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the public health system, the mortality rate due toCryptococcus neoformans meningitis is still high. To obtain a more detailed picture of the population genetic structure of this species in southeast Brazil, we studied 108 clinical isolates from 101 patients and 35 environmental isolates. Among the patients, 59% had a fatal outcome mainly in HIV-positive male patients. All the isolates were found to beC.neoformans var.grubii major molecular type VNI and mating type locus alpha. Twelve were identified as diploid by flow cytometry, being homozygous (A αAα) for the mating type and by PCR screening of theSTE20,GPA1, andPAK1 genes. Using the ISHAM consensus multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme, 13 sequence types (ST) were identified, with one being newly described. ST93 was identified from 81 (75%) of the clinical isolates, while ST77...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research