Sporothrix chilensis sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Ophiostomatales), a soil-borne agent of human sporotrichosis with mild-pathogenic potential to mammals

Anderson Messias Rodrigues, Rodrigo Cruz Choappa, Geisa Ferreira Fernandes, G Sybren de Hoog, Zoilo Pires de Camargo

    Research output: Contribution to journal/periodicalArticleScientificpeer-review

    105 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A combination of phylogeny, evolution, morphologies and ecologies has enabled major advances in understanding the taxonomy of Sporothrix species, including members exhibiting distinct lifestyles such as saprobes, human/animal pathogens, and insect symbionts. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS1/2 + 5.8s sequences split Sporothrix genus in two well-defined groups with dissimilar ecologies. Species embedded in the Sporothrix schenckii complex are frequently agents of human and animal sporotrichosis, and some of these are responsible for large sapronoses and zoonoses around the warmer temperate regions of the world. At the other extreme, basal saprophytic species evolved in association with decaying wood and soil, and are rarely found to cause human disease. We propose to create a new taxa, Sporothrix chilensis sp. nov., to accommodate strains collected from a clinical case of onychomycosis as well as from environmental origins in Chile. Multigene analyses based on ITS1/2 + 5.8s region, beta-tubulin, calmodulin and translation elongation factor 1α revealed that S. chilensis is a member of the Sporothrix pallida complex, and the nearest taxon is Sporothrix mexicana, a rare soil-borne species, non-pathogenic to humans. The ITS region serves as a primary barcode marker, while each one of the protein-coding loci easily recognized species boundaries providing sufficient information for species identification. A disseminated model of murine sporotrichosis revealed a mild-pathogenic potential, with lung invasion. Although S. chilensis is not a primary pathogen, accidental infection may have an impact in the immunosuppressed population. With the introduction of distinct species with similar routes of transmission but different virulence, identification of Sporothrix agents at the species level is mandatory.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)246-64
    Number of pages19
    JournalFungal Biology
    Volume120
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2016

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