title: Heterogeneity Confounds Establishment of "a" Model Microbial Strain.
abstract: Aspergillus fumigatusis a ubiquitous environmental mold and the leading cause of diverse human diseases ranging from allergenic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Experimental investigations of the biology and virulence of this opportunistic pathogen have historically used a few type strains; however, it is increasingly observed with this fungus that heterogeneity among isolates potentially confounds the use of these reference isolates. Illustrating this point, Kowalski et al. (mBio 7:e01515-16, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01515-16) demonstrated that variation in 16 environmental and clinical isolates ofA. fumigatuscorrelated virulence with fitness in low oxygen, whereas Fuller et al. (mBio 7:e01517-16, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01517-16) showed wide variation in light responses at a physiological and protein functionality level in 15A. fumigatusisolates. In both studies, two commonly used type strains, Af293 and CEA10, displayed significant differences in physiological responses to abiotic stimuli and virulence in a murine model of IPA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA npkeller@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Nancy P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010641:Phenotype