Abstract
Ever since the uncultivated South American fungal pathogen Lacazia loboi was first described 90 years ago, its etiology and evolutionary traits have been at the center of endless controversies. This pathogen infects the skin of humans and as long believed, dolphin skin. However, recent DNA analyses of infected dolphins placed its DNA sequences within Paracoccidioides species. This came as a surprise and suggested the human and dolphin pathogens may be different species. In this study, population genetic analyses of DNA from four infected dolphins grouped this pathogen in a monophyletic cluster sister to P. americana and to the other Paracoccidioides species. Based on the results we have emended the taxonomy of the dolphin pathogen as Paracoccidioides cetii and P. loboi the one infecting human. Our data warn that phylogenetic analysis of available taxa without the inclusion of unusual members may provide incomplete information for the accurate classification of anomalous species.
Highlights
Ever since the uncultivated South American fungal pathogen Lacazia loboi was first described 90 years ago, its etiology and evolutionary traits have been at the center of endless controversies
Further phylogenetic analysis using several rDNA and partial coding DNA sequences, recovered from numerous human cases in Brazil, supported the finding[16,17]. The latter studies showed statistical support for the genus Lacazia to be the etiologic agent of the subcutaneous disease in humans and dolphins. This notion was first challenged by Rotstein et al.[18], with genomic DNA extracted from a USA bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with skin disease
P. cetii is found causing disease in dolphins in many oceans and, P. loboi shares some phenotypes with Paracoccidioides species, it displays numerous features in common with P. cetii
Summary
Ever since the uncultivated South American fungal pathogen Lacazia loboi was first described 90 years ago, its etiology and evolutionary traits have been at the center of endless controversies. The first phylogenetic study of genomic DNA extracted from a Brazilian patient with skin disease, clustered this uncultivated pathogen of humans with the dimorphic Onygenales, closely related to P. brasiliensis[13]. This was an expected outcome, since its phenotypic features in the skin of infected patients somehow, resembles the phenotype observed in cases of systemic p aracoccidioidomycosis[14,15]. Further phylogenetic analysis using several rDNA and partial coding DNA sequences, recovered from numerous human cases in Brazil, supported the finding[16,17] The latter studies showed statistical support for the genus Lacazia to be the etiologic agent of the subcutaneous disease in humans and dolphins. Found in soil Disease located away from big rivers Disease found near fresh water big rivers
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