Molecular typing of clinical and environmental Cryptococcus neoformans isolates in the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul.
In Brazil, 4.5% of the AIDS-related opportunistic infections are caused by Cryptococcus neoformans. This pathogen is a ubiquitous environmental basidiomycetous encapsulated yeast, commonly found in soil and avian excreta. The present study investigates further the population structure of clinical and environmental C. neoformans isolates from south Brazil. One hundred five clinical and 19 environmental (pigeon excreta and Eucalyptus spp.) isolates from the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul were characterized based on morphological, biochemical, molecular and serological data. The majority of the clinical and environmental isolates analyzed belonged to C. neoformans var. grubii serotype A (89.5 and 52.6%, respectively), were mating type alpha (98.1 and 94.7%, respectively) and were phospholipase-positive (94.3 and 73.7%, respectively). PCR-fingerprinting with the microsatellite-specific primer M13 and the minisatellite-specific primer (GACA)(4) grouped the majority of the isolates into the molecular type VNI (89.5 of the clinical and 52.6% of the environmental isolates). Our results add considerable new information to the few available data on ecology, molecular biology and epidemiology of C. neoformans in the southern region of Brazil.
Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, P.O. Box 15005, 91501-970 RS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Agnes Kiesling
AK
Casali
Letícia
L
Goulart
Lívia Kmetzsch
LK
Rosa e Silva
Angela Medeiros
AM
Ribeiro
Aline Almeida
AA
Amaral
Sydney Hartz
SH
Alves
Augusto
A
Schrank
Wieland
W
Meyer
Marilene Henning
MH
Vainstein
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D010856:Columbidae / Q000382:microbiology; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005052:Eucalyptus / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010740:Phospholipases / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D010740:Phospholipases