Abstract
Sporothrix schenckii is a worldwide-distributed thermally dimorphic fungus, which usually causes a subacute to chronic infection through traumatic implantation or inoculation of its infectious propagules. The fungus encompasses a group of phylogenetically closely related species, thus named the S. schenckii complex, of which S. schenckii sensu stricto and S. brasiliensis are main causative species of sporotrichosis. Owing to a multifaceted molecular dynamic, the S. schenckii complex can switch between the mycelium and the yeast form. This characteristic along with a varying cell wall composition account for significant species-specific differences in the host range, virulence, and susceptibility to antifungal drugs. While culture remains the gold standard to diagnose sporotrichosis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry-based methods have become an essential for accurate species identification in many clinical laboratories. If directly applied on tissue samples, molecular methods are helpful to improve both sensitivity of and time to the etiological diagnosis of sporotrichosis. This mini-review aims to put together the old and new knowledge on the S. schenckii complex biology and identification, with particular emphasis on the laboratory diagnosis-related aspects of disease.
Highlights
Known as the only causative agent of human and animal sporotrichosis [1], the thermally dimorphic Sporothrix schenckii really consists of phylogenetically closely related species, which are embedded in the order Ophiostomatales, class Pyrenomycetes, division Ascomycota within the Fungi kingdom [2]
Whereas S. schenckii sensu stricto and S. globosa are distributed throughout the world, S. brasiliensis has emerged in the Rio de Janerio state of and is restricted to Brazil [1,5]
In 2007, Marimon et al [4] supported the evidence raised from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular studies, as summarized in the study by Oliveira et al [17], that phenotypically overlapping S. schenckii isolates do not belong to the same species
Summary
Known as the only causative agent of human and animal sporotrichosis [1], the thermally dimorphic Sporothrix schenckii (sensu lato) really consists of phylogenetically closely related species, which are embedded in the order Ophiostomatales, class Pyrenomycetes, division Ascomycota within the Fungi kingdom [2]. Uniquely when compared to the infections caused by other endemic dimorphic fungi (e.g., Onygenales), transmission seems to occur directly through the fungus’s yeast phase that is present at a high burden in the infected animal’s lesions [10]. Another distinctive feature of sporotrichosis is the supposed high prevalence of animal-to-human transmission, which is consistent with the so far described largest outbreak of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis that has emerged three decades ago and continued to expand in Brazil [12], involving thousands of humans and cats. S. schenckii complex, to emphasize relevant aspects of biology and identification of human and animal sporotrichosis agents
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