Unisexual reproduction of Cryptococcus gattii

Cryptococcus gattii is a basidiomycetous human fungal pathogen that typically causes infection in tropical and subtropical regions and is responsible for an ongoing outbreak in immunocompetent individuals on Vancouver Island and in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Pathogenesis of this species may be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-10, Vol.9 (10), p.e111089-e111089
Main Authors: Phadke, Sujal S, Feretzaki, Marianna, Clancey, Shelly Applen, Mueller, Olaf, Heitman, Joseph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Basidiospores
Biological evolution
Biology and Life Sciences
Candida albicans
Cell cycle
Cell division
Cryptococcus
Cryptococcus gattii - cytology
Cryptococcus gattii - genetics
Cryptococcus gattii - growth & development
Cryptococcus neoformans
Environmental factors
Evolution
Fruiting Bodies, Fungal - cytology
Fruiting Bodies, Fungal - genetics
Fruiting Bodies, Fungal - growth & development
Fungal infections
Genes, Mating Type, Fungal
Genetics
Genome, Fungal
Health aspects
Hyphae - cytology
Hyphae - genetics
Hyphae - growth & development
MAP Kinase Signaling System
Mating
Morphology
Outbreaks
Pathogenesis
Pathogens
Pheromones
Ploidies
Pneumonia
Population genetics
Propagules
Recombination
Reproduction
Reproduction (biology)
Sexual reproduction
Species
Virulence
Virulence (Microbiology)
Yeast
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Description
Summary:Cryptococcus gattii is a basidiomycetous human fungal pathogen that typically causes infection in tropical and subtropical regions and is responsible for an ongoing outbreak in immunocompetent individuals on Vancouver Island and in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Pathogenesis of this species may be linked to its sexual cycle that generates infectious propagules called basidiospores. A marked predominance of only one mating type (α) in clinical and environmental isolates suggests that a-α opposite-sex reproduction may be infrequent or geographically restricted, raising the possibility of an alternative unisexual cycle involving cells of only α mating type, as discovered previously in the related pathogenic species Cryptococcus neoformans. Here we report observation of hallmark features of unisexual reproduction in a clinical isolate of C. gattii (isolate 97/433) and describe genetic and environmental factors conducive to this sexual cycle. Our results are consistent with population genetic evidence of recombination in the largely unisexual populations of C. gattii and provide a useful genetic model for understanding how novel modes of sexual reproduction may contribute to evolution and virulence in this species.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0111089