Genomic Understanding of an Infectious Brain Disease from the Desert
Ver/Abrir
Autor/a
Moreno, Leandro F.
Ahmed, Abdalla A. O.
Brankovics, Balázs
Cuomo, Christina A.
Menken, Steph B. J.
Taj-Aldeen, Saad J.
Faidah, Hani
Stielow, J. Benjamin
Teixeira, Marcus de M.
Prenafeta-Boldú, Francesc X.
Vicente, Vania A.
de Hoog, Sybren
Fecha de publicación
2018-01-11ISSN
2160-1836
Resumen
Rhinocladiella mackenziei accounts for the majority of fungal brain infections in the Middle East, and
is restricted to the arid climate zone between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Neurotropic dissemination caused by this
fungus has been reported in immunocompromised, but also immunocompetent individuals. If untreated, the
infection is fatal. Outside of humans, the environmental niche of R. mackenziei is unknown, and the fungus has
been only cultured from brain biopsies. In this paper, we describe the whole-genome resequencing of two R.
mackenziei strains from patients in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We assessed intraspecies variation and genetic
signatures to uncover the genomic basis of the pathogenesis, and potential niche adaptations. We found that
the duplicated genes (paralogs) are more susceptible to accumulating significant mutations. Comparative genomics with other filamentous ascomycetes revealed a diverse arsenal of genes likely engaged in pathogenicity, such
as the degradation of aromatic compounds and iron acquisition. In addition, intracellular accumulation of trehalose
and choline suggests possible adaptations to the conditions of an arid climate region. Specifically, protein family
contractions were found, including short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase SDR, the cytochrome P450 (CYP)
(E-class), and the G-protein b WD-40 repeat. Gene composition and metabolic potential indicate extremotolerance
and hydrocarbon assimilation, suggesting a possible environmental habitat of oil-polluted desert soil
Tipo de documento
Artículo
Versión del documento
Versión publicada
Lengua
Inglés
Materias (CDU)
616.8 - Neurologia. Neuropatologia. Sistema nerviós
Páginas
14
Publicado por
Genetics Society of America
Publicado en
G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
Citación
Moreno, L., Ahmed, A., Brankovics, B., Cuomo, C., Menken, S., & Taj-Aldeen, S. et al. (2018). Genomic Understanding of an Infectious Brain Disease from the Desert. G3&Amp;#58; Genes|Genomes|Genetics, g3.300421.2017. doi:10.1534/g3.117.300421
Program
Sostenibilitat en Biosistemes
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