title: Evidence of sexual recombination among Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A isolates in sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: The most common cause of fungal meningitis in humans, Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A, is a basidiomycetous yeast with a bipolar mating system. However, the vast majority (>99.9%) of C. neoformans serotype A isolates possess only one of the two mating type alleles (MATalpha). Isolates with the other allele (MATa) were recently discovered and proven to mate in the laboratory. It has been a mystery whether and where C. neoformans strains undergo sexual reproduction. Here, we applied population genetic approaches to demonstrate that a population of C. neoformans serotype A clinical isolates from Botswana contains an unprecedented proportion of fertile MATa isolates and exhibits evidence of both clonal expansion and recombination within two partially genetically isolated subgroups. Our findings provide evidence for sexual recombination among some populations of C. neoformans serotype A from sub-Saharan Africa, which may have a direct impact on their evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. litvi001@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: Anastasia P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Litvintseva
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heitman
authors.forename: Rytas
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vilgalys
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000483:Alleles; D001902:Botswana; D002999:Clone Cells; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D049770:Genes, Mating Type, Fungal; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005819:Genetic Markers