Deciphering the model pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans

Alexander Idnurm, Yong Sun Bahn, Kirsten Nielsen, Xiaorong Lin, James A. Fraser, Joseph Heitman

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

270 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycete fungal pathogen of humans that has diverged considerably from other model fungi such as Neurospora crassa, Aspergillus nidulans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the common human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. The recent completion of the genome sequences of two related C. neoformans strains and the ongoing genome sequencing of three other divergent Cryptococcus strains with different virulence phenotypes and environmental distributions should improve our understanding of this important pathogen. We discuss the biology of C. neoformans in light of this genomic data, with a special emphasis on the role that evolution and sexual reproduction have in the complex relationships of the fungus with the environment and the host.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)753-764
Number of pages12
JournalNature Reviews Microbiology
Volume3
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2005

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