title: Coccidioides posadasii produces melanin in vitro and during infection.
abstract: Using techniques developed to study melanization in other fungi, we demonstrate that Coccidioides posadasii arthroconidia, spherules, and endospores produce melanin or melanin-like compounds in vitro and tissue forms synthesize pigment in vivo. Since melanin is an important virulence factor in other pathogenic fungi, it may affect the pathogenesis of coccidioidomycosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. nosanchu@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Nosanchuk
authors.forename: Jieh-Juen
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Chiung-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casadevall
authors.forename: Garry T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D003045:Coccidioides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D008543:Melanins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D008543:Melanins