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Review
. 2019 Feb 1;57(Supplement_1):S21-S29.
doi: 10.1093/mmy/myy051.

Coccidioides ecology and genomics

Bridget M Barker  1 , Anastasia P Litvintseva  2 , Meritxell Riquelme  3 , Lluvia Vargas-Gastélum  3
Affiliations
Review

Coccidioides ecology and genomics

Bridget M Barker et al. Med Mycol. .

Abstract

Although the natural history and ecology of Coccidioides spp. have been studied for over 100 years, many fundamental questions about this fungus remain unanswered. Two of the most challenging aspects of the study of Coccidioides have been the undefined ecological niche and the outdated geographic distribution maps dating from midcentury. This review details the history of Coccidioides ecological research, and discusses current strategies and advances in understanding Coccidioides genetics and ecology.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Location and ecosystem appearance of the study site, Valle de las Palmas, Baja California, Mexico. (A) Map showing the geographic location of Valle de las Palmas (VDP) in Baja California, Mexico. (B) Top soil microhabitat in summer. (C) Burrow microhabitat in summer. This Figure is reproduced in color in the online version of Medical Mycology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Strategy for molecular detection of Coccidioides spp. by PCR amplification of the ITS region. (A) Illustration of the regions and length amplified by the sub-kingdom Dikarya primers: NSI1 and NLB4, and the designed Coccidioides ITS1 primers: ITS1CF (5΄-GTGGCGTCCGGCTGCGCACCTCCCCCGCGG-3΄) and ITS1CR (5΄-GCGCAAGGCGGGCGATCCCCGGCAGCC-3΄). (B) Polymerase chain reaction conditions for the amplification of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota fungi, and conditions for the amplification of the ITS1 region as target for the molecular identification of Coccidioides spp.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Biogeographic Distribution of Coccidioides across the American Continents. (A) Collapsed phylogenetic tree representing sequenced genomes from Engelthaler et al., Sharpton et al., and Neafsey et al. and some unpublished sequence data. Red branches are C. posadasii (CP) isolates from Arizona, pink are CP from Texas/Mexico/South America, yellow are CP from Venezuela and Guatemala. Blue branches are isolates from the C. immitis lineage, representing broad diversity and hybrid strains (polyphyletic branches). (B) Colors overlaid from tree to represent the phylogenetic lineages on the biogeographic map from patient origin of the isolates. This Figure is reproduced in color in the online version of Medical Mycology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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