Detection and molecular differentiation of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii in environmental samples

• Grant number: 12/14047-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: September 01, 2012 - February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Bagagli
• Grantee: Eduardo Bagagli
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Soil is the probable habitat of the dimorphic pathogenic fungi Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and P. lutzii. Such assumption is based on the common paracoccidioidomycosis infection in rural workers and the frequent isolation of P. brasiliensis in 9-banded armadillo's, a wild mammal that live immersed in soil, from which the pathogen can be repeatedly detected by molecular techniques, such as PCR and Nested PCR. This project aims detecting and molecular typing the species P. brasiliensis (S1, PS2 and PS3 genotypes) and P. lutzii in environmental aerosol samples and soil related to armadillo's burrows, from different paracoccidioidomycosis endemic regions of Brazil, by using Nested PCR and TSA-FISH techniques. FISH (Fluorescence in situ Hybridization) technique when associated with TSA (Tyramide Signal Amplification) appears to be highly sensitive and discriminatory to the present purposes. Besides the environmental molecular detection, it will also be studied by fungal culture if P. lutzii occurs in natural infected armadillo's from the central-west regions of Brazil. The actual distribution map of Paracoccidioides genus, based mainly in data from clinical cases, presents important limitations due to common human migration and long period of disease latency. So, the present proposal could provide important biogeographic information of Paraccodioides spp., since each fungal species will be detected and located in environmental samples and in armadillos that characteristically present a restricted home range and no migratory habit. This project could be part of a larger project that was discussed and outlined during the last ISHAM meeting, in Berlin, which the main goal is to evaluate the meanings of the occurrence of more than one species in paracoccidioidomycosis, in relation to the ecoepidemiological, diagnosis, clinical and treatment aspects. For such larger project (possible "temático FAPESP"), the ecological aspects of P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii migh be studied in a wide geographical scale, including both new endemic regions, such as from Rondonia, as well as from other countries, such as Colombia and Venezuela. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ARANTES, THALES DOMINGOS; THEODORO, RAQUEL CORDEIRO; TEIXEIRA, MARCUS DE MELO; BAGAGLI, EDUARDO. Use of fluorescent oligonucleotide probes for differentiation between Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii in yeast and mycelial phase. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, v. 112, n. 2, p. 140+, FEB 2017. (12/03233-3, 12/14047-6)

ARANTES, THALES DOMINGOS; THEODORO, RAQUEL CORDEIRO; TEIXEIRA, MARCUS DE MELO; GIMENES BOSCO, SANDRA DE MORAES; BAGAGLI, EDUARDO. Environmental Mapping of Paracoccidioides spp. in Brazil Reveals New Clues into Genetic Diversity, Biogeography and Wild Host Association. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 10, n. 4, APR 2016. (12/14047-6, 12/03233-3)

ARANTES, THALES DOMINGOS; BAGAGLI, EDUARDO; NINO-VEGA, GUSTAVO; SAN-BLAS, GIOCONDA; THEODORO, RAQUEL CORDEIRO. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis AND Paracoccidioides lutzii, A SECRET LOVE AFFAIR. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, v. 57, n. 19, p. 25-30, SEP 2015. (12/14047-6, 12/03233-3)