Global Spread of Human Chromoblastomycosis Is Driven by Recombinant Cladophialophora carrionii and Predominantly Clonal Fonsecaea Species.

Shuwen Deng,Jiufeng Sun,Clement K M Tsui,Wanqing Liao,Hamid Badali,Jacques F Meis,Bernard Papierok,Ferry Hagen,Mohammad Javad Najafzadeh,Somayeh Dolatabadi,Ruoyu Li,Weihua Pan,Liyue Yang,A H G Gerrits Van Den Ende,G S De Hoog,Todd Reynolds

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004004

Abstract

Global distribution patterns of Cladophialophora carrionii, agent of human chromoblastomycosis in arid climates of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central-and South-America, were compared with similar data of the vicarious Fonsecaea spp., agents of the disease in tropical rain forests. Population diversities among 73 C. carrionii strains and 60 strains of three Fonsecaea species were analyzed for rDNA ITS, partial β-tubulin, and amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprints. Populations differed significantly between continents. Lowest haplotype diversity was found in South American populations, while African strains were the most diverse. Gene flow was noted between the African population and all other continents. The general pattern of Fonsecaea agents of chromoblastomycosis differed significantly from that of C. carrionii and revealed deeper divergence among three differentiated species with smaller numbers of haplotypes, indicating a longer evolutionary history.

Highlights

Chromoblastomycosis is a severely mutilating disease caused commonly by two fungal species groups in Cladophialophora and Fonsecaea, which occur in arid climates or in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases | DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd
Chromoblastomycosis is a serious fungal skin disease that may lead to severe morbidity The disease is characterized histologically by muriform cells that cause chronic inflammation of the stratum spinosum or stratum corneum, as well as infection of subcutaneous tissues, Infection may lead to cauliflower-like eruptions on the skin, hyperkeratosis, or intermediate forms, depending on the type of interaction between host and fungal cells [1]
A representative overview of the Chaetothyriales was constructed based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence data of 81 strains using neighbor joining with Kimura 2—parameter and gamma correction substitution model, 1000 bootstrap replications and Knufia epidermidis as outgroup (S1 Fig)

Summary

Introduction

Chromoblastomycosis is a serious fungal skin disease that may lead to severe morbidity The disease is characterized histologically by muriform cells that cause chronic inflammation of the stratum spinosum or stratum corneum, as well as infection of subcutaneous tissues, Infection may lead to cauliflower-like eruptions on the skin, hyperkeratosis, or intermediate forms, depending on the type of interaction between host and fungal cells [1]. The disease is seen worldwide, in tropical and subtropical regions with higher prevalence in Southern Africa and Madagascar [2,3], Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela){Queiroz-Telles, 2013 #2613}[1,4,5], East Asia and Australia [6,7]. In hyperendemic regions such as arid parts of Venezuela, Yegres [8] and Yegüez-Rodriguez [9] noted a frequency of 16 cases/1,000 persons. Success of treatment is related to the identity of the causative agent, the clinical form and severity of the chromoblastomycosis lesions

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