Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic fungal infection that often disseminates into the central nervous system, leading to meningitis. Production of melanin pigments during infections is one of the most important virulence factors of its causal agent, the human pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans species complex. However, almost nothing is known about the patterns of variation in melanin production among clinical and environmental strains and the potential effects of such variations on virulence. In this study, we assembled a global collection of C. neoformans var. neoformans strains and investigated their patterns of melanin variation and potential contributors to such variations. Our analyses revealed that genetic differences and genotype-environment interactions explained up to 59% and 43% of the population's melanin variance respectively, depending on the tested environments. In comparison, environmental factors alone contributed relatively little to melanin variance. We also identified specific changes within the LAC1 gene, whose protein product catalyzes melanin synthesis, to be associated with variable melanin levels. This study provides fresh insights into the origin and evolution of virulence traits in fungal pathogens while highlighting the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors that lead to phenotypic variance.

Genetic Factors and Genotype-Environment Interactions Contribute to Variation in Melanin Production in the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans / H. Samarasinghe, D. Aceituno-Caicedo, M. Cogliati, K.J. Kwon-Chung, V. Rickerts, A. Velegraki, S. Ackaglar, J. Xu. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - 8:1(2018 Jun 29), pp. 9824.1-9824.11. [10.1038/s41598-018-27813-3]

Genetic Factors and Genotype-Environment Interactions Contribute to Variation in Melanin Production in the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

M. Cogliati;
2018

Abstract

Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic fungal infection that often disseminates into the central nervous system, leading to meningitis. Production of melanin pigments during infections is one of the most important virulence factors of its causal agent, the human pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans species complex. However, almost nothing is known about the patterns of variation in melanin production among clinical and environmental strains and the potential effects of such variations on virulence. In this study, we assembled a global collection of C. neoformans var. neoformans strains and investigated their patterns of melanin variation and potential contributors to such variations. Our analyses revealed that genetic differences and genotype-environment interactions explained up to 59% and 43% of the population's melanin variance respectively, depending on the tested environments. In comparison, environmental factors alone contributed relatively little to melanin variance. We also identified specific changes within the LAC1 gene, whose protein product catalyzes melanin synthesis, to be associated with variable melanin levels. This study provides fresh insights into the origin and evolution of virulence traits in fungal pathogens while highlighting the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors that lead to phenotypic variance.
Settore MED/42 - Igiene Generale e Applicata
29-giu-2018
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
2018 Scientific Reports.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 1.83 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.83 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/580206
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 6
  • Scopus 14
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 13
social impact