Resistance to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in mice is controlled by a single dominant autosomal gene

Abstract

In a previous report it was shown that there are resistant, susceptible, and intermediate strains of mice to intraperitoneal Paracoccidioides brasiliensis infection. In the present work, we investigated the type of inheritance and the number of genes that determine resistance to paracoccidioidomycosis. Parental and hybrid mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 5 X 10(6) P. brasiliensis yeast cells, and mortality was scored daily. Analysis of susceptible and resistant parental strains and of F1, F2, and backcross mice showed that the resistance to P. brasiliensis seems to be controlled genetically by a single dominant gene, which we designated the Pbr locus. The mean survival times of susceptible F2 and backcross hybrids were very similar to that of the susceptible parent. Examination of the pathological changes observed in parental and F1 mice, 6 months after infection, showed that F1 offspring presented a similar number and distribution of lesions to those of the resistant strains. The Pbr gene is not linked to H-2, Hc, and albino genes. Furthermore, resistance to paracoccidioidomycosis is controlled by an autosomal gene.