title: Cutaneous Granulomas in Dolphins Caused by Novel Uncultivated Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.
abstract: Cutaneous granulomas in dolphins were believed to be caused by Lacazia loboi, which also causes a similar disease in humans. This hypothesis was recently challenged by reports that fungal DNA sequences from dolphins grouped this pathogen with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. We conducted phylogenetic analysis of fungi from 6 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) with cutaneous granulomas and chains of yeast cells in infected tissues. Kex gene sequences of P. brasiliensis from dolphins showed 100% homology with sequences from cultivated P. brasiliensis, 73% with those of L. loboi, and 93% with those of P. lutzii. Parsimony analysis placed DNA sequences from dolphins within a cluster with human P. brasiliensis strains. This cluster was the sister taxon to P. lutzii and L. loboi. Our molecular data support previous findings and suggest that a novel uncultivated strain of P. brasiliensis restricted to cutaneous lesions in dolphins is probably the cause of lacaziosis/lobomycosis, herein referred to as paracoccidioidomycosis ceti.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vilela
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Bossart
authors.forename: Judy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: St Leger
authors.forename: Leslie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Reif
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fair
authors.forename: Leonel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mendoza
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001706:Biopsy; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000662:veterinary*; D004289:Dolphins; D006099:Granuloma / Q000662:veterinary*; D010228:Paracoccidioides / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010229:Paracoccidioidomycosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal
keywords: Lacazia loboi; P. lutzii; Paracoccidioides brasiliensis; Tursiops truncatus; bottlenose dolphins; cutaneous granulomas; dolphins; fungi; lacaziosis; lobomycosis; paracoccidioidomycosis; paracoccidioidomycosis ceti; phylogenetic analysis