We report the complete draft genome sequence of Cryptococcus albidus var. albidus, an oleaginous yeast, which can utilize various organic carbon sources for lipid synthesis. Availability of this genome will help elucidate factors driving lipid accumulation in C. albidus and contribute toward bioprocess development and optimization for engineered lipid production.

In basidiomycetous fungi, the viability of basidiospores is an important component of sexual fitness. However, relatively little is known about the genetic and environmental factors influencing basidiospore germination. In this study, we used human opportunistic yeast pathogens, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus deneoformans, as models to investigate the potential effects of selected gen...

Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease affecting more than one million people per year worldwide. The main etiological agents of cryptococcosis are the two sibling species Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii that present numerous differences in geographical distribution, ecological niches, epidemiology, pathobiology, clinical presentation and molecular characters. Genotyping of the two ...

Interspecies hybrids of Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii have only recently been reported. We describe a novel C. neoformans x C. gattii hybrid strain (serotype AB) that was previously described as C. gattii and that caused a lethal infection in an AIDS patient from Canada.

Isolated nonhydrolyzed cryptococcal polysaccharide is a rather specific potent inhibitor of the phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans by human leukocytes in vitro. When an encapsulated strain of C. neoformans was cultured in the nonencapsulated state, the rate of phagocytosis was three times greater than when the encapsulated form was used. Our theory that capsular material plays a role in th...

Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans cause pulmonary and systemic cryptococcosis. Recently, C. gattii was recognized as a distinct pathogen of humans and animals. We analyzed information from 400 publications (1948-2008) to examine whether the fungus occurs globally. Known distribution of C. gattii is possibly limited because specialized reagents for differentiation from C. neoformans are not ...

The basidiomycetous yeasts Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are closely related sibling species that cause respiratory and neurological disease in humans and animals. Within these two recognized species, phylogenetic analysis reveals at least six cryptic species defined as molecular types (VNI/II/B, VNIV, VGI, VGII, VGIII, and VGIV) that comprise the pathogenic Cryptococcus speci...

Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans are encapsulated yeasts that can produce a solid tumor-like mass or cryptococcoma. Analogous to malignant tumors, the microenvironment deep within a cryptococcoma is acidic, which presents unique challenges to host defense. Analogous to malignant cells, NK cells kill Cryptococcus. Thus, as in tumor defense, NK cells must kill yeast cells across a ...