Cryptococcus neoformans carried by Odontomachus bauri ants.
Cryptococcus neoformans is the most common causative agent of cryptococcosis worldwide. Although this fungus has been isolated from a variety of organic substrates, several studies suggest that hollow trees constitute an important natural niche for C. neoformans. A previously surveyed hollow of a living pink shower tree (Cassia grandis) positive for C. neoformans in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was chosen for further investigation. Odontomachus bauri ants (trap-jaw ants) found inside the hollow were collected for evaluation as possible carriers of Cryptococcus spp. Two out of 10 ants were found to carry phenoloxidase-positive colonies identified as C. neoformans molecular types VNI and VNII. The ants may have acted as a mechanical vector of C. neoformans and possibly contributed to the dispersal of the fungi from one substrate to another. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the association of C. neoformans with ants of the genus Odontomachus.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Genéticos Vegetais, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, Brazil.
Mariana Santos de
MS
Jesus
William Costa
WC
Rodrigues
Glaucia
G
Barbosa
Luciana
L
Trilles
Bodo
B
Wanke
Márcia dos Santos
Mdos S
Lazéra
Manuela da
Md
Silva
D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D001938:Brazil; D002366:Cassia / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques