TY - JOUR
T1 - Identification of Novel Hybrids Between Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii VNI and Cryptococcus gattii VGII
AU - Aminnejad, Mojgan
AU - Diaz, Mara
AU - Arabatzis, Michael
AU - Castañeda, Elizabeth
AU - Lazera, Marcia
AU - Velegraki, Aristea
AU - Marriott, Deborah
AU - Sorrell, Tania C.
AU - Meyer, Wieland
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The authors thank Mary Mattews for providing the strain from India; Maggie Wang and Stephen Schibeci for technical assistance on flow cytometry analysis; and Fottes Al. Panetsos and Hariklia Moshoyiannis for technical assistance on Luminex analysis. This work was supported by a University of Sydney Postgraduate Award and a CIDM Public health scholarship to MAm. The work of the Sydney Institute for Emerging Infections and Biosecurity is supported by a grant from the Sydney Medical School Foundation. TCS is a Sydney Medical School Foundation Fellow. The Bodosakis Foundation and the Research fund SARG 70/3/6915 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens partially funded this work. Flow cytometry was performed in the Flow Cytometry Core Facility that is supported by Westmead Millennium Institute, National Health and Medical Research Council and Cancer Institute New South Wales, Australia.
PY - 2012/6
Y1 - 2012/6
N2 - Cryptococcusneoformans and Cryptococcusgattii are pathogenic yeasts causing meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. The fungus is typically haploid, and sexual reproduction occurs normally between individuals with opposite mating types, α and a. C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A) is comprised of molecular types VNI, VNII, and VNB, and C. neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D) contains the molecular type VNIV. Additionally, diploid or aneuploid AD hybrids (VNIII) have been reported. C. gattii contains the molecular types VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV, which encompass both serotypes B and C. To identify possible hybrid strains, URA5-RFLP analysis was performed on 350 globally obtained clinical, environmental, and veterinary isolates. Four clinical isolates from cerebrospinal fluid showed combination patterns of C. neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii: Brazil (n = 2), Colombia (n = 1), and India (n = 1). These strains were monokaryotic and diploid or aneuploid. M13 PCR fingerprinting showed that they contained fragments of both proposed parental groups. Luminex IGS genotyping identified these isolates as hybrids with two different molecular type combinations: three VNI/VGII and one VNI/VGI. Blue color development on CGB agar was delayed in three isolates and absent in one. C. gattii-specific PCR confirmed the presence of C. gattii in the hybrids. CAP59 allele-specific PCR revealed that all the hybrids contained both serotype A and B alleles. Determination of mating-type allelic patterns by PCR revealed that the isolates were αA aB. This is the first study discovering novel natural hybrids between C. neoformans molecular type VNI and C. gattii molecular type VGII.
AB - Cryptococcusneoformans and Cryptococcusgattii are pathogenic yeasts causing meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. The fungus is typically haploid, and sexual reproduction occurs normally between individuals with opposite mating types, α and a. C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A) is comprised of molecular types VNI, VNII, and VNB, and C. neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D) contains the molecular type VNIV. Additionally, diploid or aneuploid AD hybrids (VNIII) have been reported. C. gattii contains the molecular types VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV, which encompass both serotypes B and C. To identify possible hybrid strains, URA5-RFLP analysis was performed on 350 globally obtained clinical, environmental, and veterinary isolates. Four clinical isolates from cerebrospinal fluid showed combination patterns of C. neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii: Brazil (n = 2), Colombia (n = 1), and India (n = 1). These strains were monokaryotic and diploid or aneuploid. M13 PCR fingerprinting showed that they contained fragments of both proposed parental groups. Luminex IGS genotyping identified these isolates as hybrids with two different molecular type combinations: three VNI/VGII and one VNI/VGI. Blue color development on CGB agar was delayed in three isolates and absent in one. C. gattii-specific PCR confirmed the presence of C. gattii in the hybrids. CAP59 allele-specific PCR revealed that all the hybrids contained both serotype A and B alleles. Determination of mating-type allelic patterns by PCR revealed that the isolates were αA aB. This is the first study discovering novel natural hybrids between C. neoformans molecular type VNI and C. gattii molecular type VGII.
KW - AB hybrids
KW - Cryptococcusgattii
KW - Cryptococcusneoformans
KW - Mating type
KW - Molecular type
KW - Serotype
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U2 - 10.1007/s11046-011-9491-x
DO - 10.1007/s11046-011-9491-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22081254
AN - SCOPUS:84860553006
VL - 173
SP - 337
EP - 346
JO - Mycopathologia
JF - Mycopathologia
SN - 0301-486X
IS - 5-6
ER -