Pinheiro Breno Gonçalves, Hahn Rosane Christine, Camargo Zoilo Pires de, Rodrigues Anderson Messias
Laboratory of Emerging Fungal Pathogens, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Discipline of Cellular Biology, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo 04023062, Brazil.
Laboratory of Mycology/Research, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso 78060900, Brazil.
J Fungi (Basel). 2020 Nov 18;6(4):293. doi: 10.3390/jof6040293.
Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a mycotic disease caused by the species, a group of thermally dimorphic fungi that grow in mycelial form at 25 °C and as budding yeasts when cultured at 37 °C or when parasitizing the host tissues. PCM occurs in a large area of Latin America, and the most critical regions of endemicity are in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. The clinical diagnosis of PCM needs to be confirmed through laboratory tests. Although classical laboratory techniques provide valuable information due to the presence of pathognomonic forms of spp., nucleic acid-based diagnostics gradually are replacing or complementing culture-based, biochemical, and immunological assays in routine microbiology laboratory practice. Recently, taxonomic changes driven by whole-genomic sequencing of have highlighted the need to recognize species boundaries, which could better ascertain taxonomy. In this scenario, classical laboratory techniques do not have significant discriminatory power over cryptic agents. On the other hand, several PCR-based methods can detect polymorphisms in DNA and thus support species identification. This review is focused on the recent achievements in molecular diagnostics of paracoccidioidomycosis, including the main advantages and pitfalls related to each technique. We discuss these breakthroughs in light of taxonomic changes in the genus.
副球孢子菌病（PCM）是一种由该属真菌引起的真菌病，该属真菌为一群温度双态性真菌，在25°C时以菌丝体形式生长，在37°C培养时或寄生在宿主组织中时以芽生酵母形式生长。PCM发生在拉丁美洲的大片地区，最关键的流行地区在巴西、哥伦比亚和委内瑞拉。PCM的临床诊断需要通过实验室检查来确认。尽管经典实验室技术由于存在副球孢子菌属的特征性形态而提供了有价值的信息，但在常规微生物学实验室实践中，基于核酸的诊断方法正逐渐取代或补充基于培养、生化和免疫的检测方法。最近，由副球孢子菌全基因组测序驱动的分类学变化凸显了识别物种界限的必要性，这有助于更好地确定副球孢子菌的分类。在这种情况下，经典实验室技术对隐性病原体没有显著的鉴别能力。另一方面，几种基于PCR的方法可以检测副球孢子菌DNA中的多态性，从而支持物种鉴定。本综述重点关注副球孢子菌病分子诊断的最新进展，包括每种技术的主要优点和缺陷。我们根据副球孢子菌属的分类学变化来讨论这些突破。
