Abstract
Cryptococcus gattii is a group of exogenous, neurotropic yeasts that possess the capsular serotype B or C. Isolates of serotype C are extremely rare and, until recently, were known to infect only immunocompetent individuals. We genotyped 176 isolates of Cryptococcus from patients in sub-Saharan Africa who had AIDS; 22 (13.7%) of 161 isolates from Botswana and 2 (13.3%) of 15 isolates from Malawi were C. gattii serotype C strains. All of these serotype C strains belong to the rare VGIV genotype, possess the MAT alpha mating-type allele, and exhibit little genetic diversity.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / microbiology*
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Animals
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Botswana
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Cryptococcosis / microbiology
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Cryptococcosis / virology*
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Cryptococcus / genetics
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Cryptococcus / isolation & purification*
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DNA, Fungal / chemistry
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DNA, Fungal / genetics
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DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / chemistry
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DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
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Genetic Variation
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Humans
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Malawi
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Phylogeny
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Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
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Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique
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Serotyping
Substances
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DNA, Fungal
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DNA, Ribosomal Spacer