{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:37:17Z","timestamp":1760240237044,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,15]],"date-time":"2019-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1555286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion, Colciencias","award":["2104-343-19163"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2104-343-19163"]}]},{"name":"National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&amp;MRC) of Australia","award":["APP1031943"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APP1031943"]}]},{"name":"University of Sydney Fellowship Australia","award":["NA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NA"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study characterized the genotype and phenotype of Cryptococcus gattii VGII isolates from Cucuta, an endemic region of cryptococcal disease in Colombia, and compared these traits with those from representative isolates from the Vancouver Island outbreak (VGIIa and VGIIb). Genetic diversity was assessed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis. Phenotypic characteristics, including growth capacity under different temperature and humidity conditions, macroscopic and microscopic morphology, phenotypic switching, mating type, and activity of extracellular enzymes were studied. Virulence was studied in vivo in a mouse model. MLST analysis showed that the isolates from Cucuta were highly clonal, with ST25 being the most common genotype. Phenotypically, isolates from Cucuta showed large cell and capsular sizes, and shared phenotypic traits and enzymatic activities among them. The mating type a prevailed among the isolates, which were fertile and of considerable virulence in the animal model. This study highlights the need for a continuous surveillance of C. gattii in Colombia, especially in endemic areas like Cucuta, where the highest number of cryptococcosis cases due to this species is reported. This will allow the early detection of potentially highly virulent strains that spread clonally, and can help prevent the occurrence of outbreaks in Colombia and elsewhere.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof5020032","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,15]],"date-time":"2019-04-15T11:15:58Z","timestamp":1555326958000},"page":"32","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Clonal Dispersal of Cryptococcus gattii VGII in an Endemic Region of Cryptococcosis in Colombia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"5","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7547-5172","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolina","family":"Firacative","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Studies in Translational Microbiology and Emerging Diseases (MICROS) Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota 111221, Colombia"},{"name":"Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital (Research and Education Network), Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Germ\u00e1n","family":"Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Group, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogota 11321, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wieland","family":"Meyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital (Research and Education Network), Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3029-118X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patricia","family":"Escand\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Group, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogota 11321, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"a019760","DOI":"10.1101\/cshperspect.a019760","article-title":"Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii, the etiologic agents of cryptococcosis","volume":"4","author":"Fraser","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cold Spring Harb. Perspect Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1567-1364.2006.00082.x","article-title":"Unique hybrids between the fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii","volume":"6","author":"Bovers","year":"2006","journal-title":"FEMS Yeast Res."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2274","DOI":"10.1128\/jcm.31.9.2274-2280.1993","article-title":"Hybridization probes for conventional DNA fingerprinting used as single primers in the polymerase chain reaction to distinguish strains of Cryptococcus neoformans","volume":"31","author":"Meyer","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.3201\/eid0902.020246","article-title":"Molecular typing of IberoAmerican Cryptococcus neoformans isolates","volume":"9","author":"Meyer","year":"2003","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"561","DOI":"10.1080\/13693780902953886","article-title":"Consensus multi-locus sequence typing scheme for Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii","volume":"47","author":"Meyer","year":"2009","journal-title":"Med. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fgb.2015.02.009","article-title":"Recognition of seven species in the Cryptococcus gattii\/Cryptococcus neoformans species complex","volume":"78","author":"Hagen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Fungal Genet. Biol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kwon-Chung, K.J., Bennett, J.E., Wickes, B.L., Meyer, W., Cuomo, C.A., Wollenburg, K.R., Bicanic, T.A., Castaneda, E., Chang, Y.C., and Chen, J. (2017). The case for adopting the \"Species Complex\" nomenclature for the etiologic agents of cryptococcosis. mSphere, 2.","DOI":"10.1128\/mSphere.00357-16"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"980","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00126-13","article-title":"Cryptococcus gattii infections","volume":"27","author":"Chen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lockhart, S.R., Iqbal, N., Harris, J.R., Grossman, N.T., DeBess, E., Wohrle, R., Marsden-Haug, N., and Vugia, D.J. (2013). Cryptococcus gattii in the United States: Genotypic diversity of human and veterinary isolates. PLoS ONE, 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/annotation\/c7250cbd-4c85-423a-8b09-da596a72f830"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17258","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0402981101","article-title":"A rare genotype of Cryptococcus gattii caused the cryptococcosis outbreak on Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada)","volume":"101","author":"Kidd","year":"2004","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1301.060827","article-title":"Spread of Cryptococcus gattii in British Columbia, Canada, and detection in the Pacific Northwest, USA","volume":"13","author":"MacDougall","year":"2007","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1360","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04220","article-title":"Same-sex mating and the origin of the Vancouver Island Cryptococcus gattii outbreak","volume":"437","author":"Fraser","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gillece, J.D., Schupp, J.M., Balajee, S.A., Harris, J., Pearson, T., Yan, Y., Keim, P., DeBess, E., Marsden-Haug, N., and Wohrle, R. (2011). Whole genome sequence analysis of Cryptococcus gattii from the Pacific Northwest reveals unexpected diversity. PLoS ONE, 6.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0028550"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"430","DOI":"10.1128\/jcm.25.2.430-431.1987","article-title":"Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii in Australia","volume":"25","author":"Ellis","year":"1987","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1080\/02681219780001561","article-title":"Cryptococcus neoformans in Papua New Guinea: A common pathogen but an elusive source","volume":"35","author":"Laurenson","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Med. Vet. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e170554","DOI":"10.1590\/0074-02760170554","article-title":"The status of cryptococcosis in Latin America","volume":"113","author":"Firacative","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.3109\/13693786.2011.574239","article-title":"Ceratonia siliqua (carob) trees as natural habitat and source of infection by Cryptococcus gattii in the Mediterranean environment","volume":"50","author":"Colom","year":"2012","journal-title":"Med. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1515","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(85)92300-1","article-title":"Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii in Europe","volume":"1","author":"Kohl","year":"1985","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"423","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-010-9389-z","article-title":"Environmental isolation of Cryptococcus gattii serotype B, VGI\/MATalpha strains in southern Italy","volume":"171","author":"Romeo","year":"2011","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Escand\u00f3n, P., Lizarazo, J., Agudelo, C.I., and Casta\u00f1eda, E. (2018). Cryptococcosis in Colombia: Compilation and analysis of data from laboratory-based surveillance. J. Fungi (Basel), 4.","DOI":"10.3390\/jof4010032"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"625","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1567-1364.2006.00055.x","article-title":"Molecular epidemiology of clinical and environmental isolates of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex reveals a high genetic diversity and the presence of the molecular type VGII mating type a in Colombia","volume":"6","author":"Martinez","year":"2006","journal-title":"FEMS Yeast Res."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lizarazo, J., Escandon, P., Agudelo, C.I., Firacative, C., Meyer, W., and Castaneda, E. (2014). Retrospective study of the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of Cryptococcus gattii infections in Colombia from 1997\u20132011. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0003272"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e01464-14","DOI":"10.1128\/mBio.01464-14","article-title":"Cryptococcus gattii in North American Pacific Northwest: Whole-population genome analysis provides insights into species evolution and dispersal","volume":"5","author":"Engelthaler","year":"2014","journal-title":"MBio"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.7705\/biomedica.v27i1.236","article-title":"Estudio cl\u00ednico y epidemiol\u00f3gico de la criptococosis en Colombia: Resultados de nueve a\u00f1os de la encuesta nacional, 1997\u20132005","volume":"27","author":"Lizarazo","year":"2007","journal-title":"Biomedica"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.7705\/biomedica.v31i1.342","article-title":"First environmental isolation of Cryptococcus gattii serotype B, from Cucuta, Colombia","volume":"31","author":"Firacative","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biomedica"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1790","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1522-2683(19990101)20:8<1790::AID-ELPS1790>3.0.CO;2-2","article-title":"Molecular typing of global isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans by polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-a pilot study to standardize techniques on which to base a detailed epidemiological survey","volume":"20","author":"Meyer","year":"1999","journal-title":"Electrophoresis"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"965","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.40.3.965-972.2002","article-title":"Geographic distribution of mating type alleles of Cryptococcus neoformans in four areas of the United States","volume":"40","author":"Yan","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"665","DOI":"10.1080\/13693780802210734","article-title":"Association between fertility and molecular sub-type of global isolates of Cryptococcus gattii molecular type VGII","volume":"46","author":"Ngamskulrungroj","year":"2008","journal-title":"Med. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1016\/S1567-1356(03)00038-2","article-title":"Molecular typing of clinical and environmental Cryptococcus neoformans isolates in the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul","volume":"3","author":"Casali","year":"2003","journal-title":"FEMS Yeast Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2920","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.37.9.2920-2926.1999","article-title":"Presence of alpha and a mating types in environmental and clinical collections of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii strains from Australia","volume":"37","author":"Halliday","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1870","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msw054","article-title":"MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 7.0 for Bigger Datasets","volume":"33","author":"Kumar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carriconde, F., Gilgado, F., Arthur, I., Ellis, D., Malik, R., van de Wiele, N., Robert, V., Currie, B.J., and Meyer, W. (2011). Clonality and alpha-a recombination in the Australian Cryptococcus gattii VGII population-an emerging outbreak in Australia. PLoS ONE, 6.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0016936"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1618","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1810.120068","article-title":"Autochthonous and dormant Cryptococcus gattii infections in Europe","volume":"18","author":"Hagen","year":"2012","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kaocharoen, S., Ngamskulrungroj, P., Firacative, C., Trilles, L., Piyabongkarn, D., Banlunara, W., Poonwan, N., Chaiprasert, A., Meyer, W., and Chindamporn, A. (2013). Molecular epidemiology reveals genetic diversity amongst isolates of the Cryptococcus neoformans\/C. gattii species complex in Thailand. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 7.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0002297"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1128\/IAI.66.1.89-97.1998","article-title":"Microevolution of a standard strain of Cryptococcus neoformans resulting in differences in virulence and other phenotypes","volume":"66","author":"Franzot","year":"1998","journal-title":"Infect. Immun."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1761","DOI":"10.1086\/314521","article-title":"Serial isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans from patients with AIDS differ in virulence for mice","volume":"178","author":"Fries","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"678","DOI":"10.1128\/am.22.4.678-682.1971","article-title":"Effect of relative humidity on survival of Candida albicans and other yeasts","volume":"22","author":"Mackenzie","year":"1971","journal-title":"Appl. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resmic.2007.12.006","article-title":"Identification of novel temperature-regulated genes in the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans using representational difference analysis","volume":"159","author":"Staats","year":"2008","journal-title":"Res. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1639","DOI":"10.1172\/JCI13407","article-title":"Phenotypic switching of Cryptococcus neoformans occurs in vivo and influences the outcome of infection","volume":"108","author":"Fries","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Clin. Investig."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1971","DOI":"10.1128\/EC.4.12.1971-1981.2005","article-title":"Pde1 phosphodiesterase modulates cyclic AMP levels through a protein kinase A-mediated negative feedback loop in Cryptococcus neoformans","volume":"4","author":"Hicks","year":"2005","journal-title":"Eukaryot. Cell"},{"key":"ref_41","first-page":"42","article-title":"Relationship between protease production and capsule size in Cryptococcus neoformans","volume":"9","author":"Leone","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Med. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1080\/00362178285380031","article-title":"Plate method for detection of phospholipase activity in Candida albicans","volume":"20","author":"Price","year":"1982","journal-title":"Sabouraudia"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/S1130-1406(08)70007-X","article-title":"Urease activity in Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii","volume":"25","year":"2008","journal-title":"Rev. Iberoam. Micol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-010-9328-z","article-title":"Pathogenesis of pulmonary Cryptococcus gattii infection: A rat model","volume":"170","author":"Krockenberger","year":"2010","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"797","DOI":"10.1590\/0074-0276130537","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in Colombian children and literature review","volume":"109","author":"Lizarazo","year":"2014","journal-title":"Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prrv.2009.06.009","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in children","volume":"10","author":"Severo","year":"2009","journal-title":"Paediatr. Respir. Rev."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e01494-14","DOI":"10.1128\/mBio.01494-14","article-title":"Highly recombinant VGII Cryptococcus gattii population develops clonal outbreak clusters through both sexual macroevolution and asexual microevolution","volume":"5","author":"Billmyre","year":"2014","journal-title":"MBio"},{"key":"ref_48","first-page":"55","article-title":"On the mechanism of adaptation of micro-organisms to conditions of extreme low humidity","volume":"11","author":"Aksenov","year":"1973","journal-title":"Life Sci. Space Res."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00437394","article-title":"A one year study on the viability of Cryptococcus neoformans in nature","volume":"77","author":"Ruiz","year":"1982","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"636","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1567-1364.2006.00090.x","article-title":"Influence of climatic conditions on the isolation of members of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex from trees in Colombia from 1992\u20132004","volume":"6","author":"Granados","year":"2006","journal-title":"FEMS Yeast Res."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"740","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.60.2.740-745.1994","article-title":"A role for exopolysaccharides in the protection of microorganisms from desiccation","volume":"60","author":"Ophir","year":"1994","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1480","DOI":"10.1128\/jb.94.5.1480-1483.1967","article-title":"Cryptococcus neoformans. II. Phagocytosis by human leukocytes","volume":"94","author":"Bulmer","year":"1967","journal-title":"J. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-008-9137-9","article-title":"Phenotypic switching of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii","volume":"166","author":"Jain","year":"2008","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_54","first-page":"328","article-title":"Phenotype characterization of environmental Cryptococcus neoformans isolates","volume":"23","author":"Cepero","year":"2003","journal-title":"Biomedica"}],"container-title":["Journal of Fungi"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2309-608X\/5\/2\/32\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T12:45:31Z","timestamp":1760186731000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2309-608X\/5\/2\/32"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,15]]},"references-count":54,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,6]]}},"alternative-id":["jof5020032"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jof5020032","relation":{},"ISSN":["2309-608X"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2309-608X"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,15]]}}}