Moskaluk Alex, Darlington Lauren, Kuhn Sally, Behzadi Elisa, Gagne Roderick B, Kozakiewicz Christopher P, VandeWoude Sue
Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Behavior Analysis, Simmons University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
J Fungi (Basel). 2022 Jun 28;8(7):676. doi: 10.3390/jof8070676.
is the primary agent causing dermatophytosis in cats, and also infects humans, dogs, and other species. Assessment of genetic variation among isolates in the United States has not been conducted. Further, mating type and assessment of disease severity associated with genotypic characteristics have not been rigorously evaluated. We therefore isolated from 191 domestic cats across the US and characterized genotypes by evaluation of ITS sequence, MAT locus, and microsatellite loci analysis. The genes SSU1 and SUB3, which are associated with keratin adhesion and digestion, were sequenced from a subset of isolates to evaluate potential genetic associations with virulence. Analysis of microsatellite makers revealed three genetic clusters. Both clinic location and disease severity were significant predictors of microsatellite variants. 100% of the isolates were MAT1-1 mating gene type, indicating that MAT1-2 is very rare or extinct in the US and that asexual reproduction is the dominant form of replication. No genetic variation at SSU1 and SUB3 was observed. These findings pave the way for novel testing modalities for and provide insights about transmission and ecology of this ubiquitous and relatively uncharacterized agent.
是引起猫皮肤癣菌病的主要病原体，也可感染人类、狗和其他物种。尚未对美国分离株之间的遗传变异进行评估。此外，交配型以及与基因型特征相关的疾病严重程度评估也未得到严格评估。因此，我们从美国各地的191只家猫中分离出该病原体，并通过评估ITS序列、MAT基因座和微卫星基因座分析来确定基因型。从一部分分离株中对与角蛋白粘附和消化相关的基因SSU1和SUB3进行测序，以评估与毒力的潜在遗传关联。微卫星标记分析揭示了三个该病原体的遗传簇。临床位置和疾病严重程度都是微卫星变异的重要预测因素。100%的该病原体分离株为MAT1-1交配基因类型，这表明MAT1-2在美国非常罕见或已灭绝，无性繁殖是主要的繁殖形式。在SSU1和SUB3未观察到遗传变异。这些发现为该病原体的新型检测方法铺平了道路，并提供了关于这种普遍存在且相对未被充分研究的病原体的传播和生态学的见解。
