Eucalyptus Tree: A Potential Source of Cryptococcus neoformans in Egyptian Environment

Abstract

In Egypt, the River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a well-known tree and is highly appreciated by the rural and urban dwellers. The role of Eucalyptus trees in the ecology of Cryptococcus neoformans is documented worldwide. The aim of this survey was to show the prevalence of C. neoformans during the flowering season of E. camaldulensis at the Delta region in Egypt. Three hundred and eleven samples out of two hundred Eucalyptus trees, including leaves, flowers, and woody trunks, were collected from four governorates in the Delta region. Thirteen isolates of C. neoformans were recovered from Eucalyptus tree samples (4.2%). Molecular identification of C. neoformans was done by capsular gene specific primer CAP64 and serotype identification was done depending on LAC1 gene. This study represents an update on the ecology of C. neoformans associated with Eucalyptus tree in Egyptian environment.

Figure 1

Brown color effect of C. neoformans on Eucalyptus leaves agar media; white colonies of C. albicans negative control and brown pigmented colonies of positive control and environmental isolates.

Figure 2

Agarose gel electropheresis of CAP64 gene specific PCR of all the examined C. neoformans isolates with production of amplicons of 400 bp, marker 100 bp DNA ladder (Jena Bioscience).

Figure 3

Agarose gel electropheresis of LAC1 gene specific PCR of all the examined C. neoformans isolates with production of amplicons of 250, 760, and 880 bp, marker 100 bp DNA plus ladder (Jena Bioscience).