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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Biolistic Transformation of a Fluorescent Tagged Gene into the Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
Published on: March 19, 2015
Genetic association of mating types and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans
K J Kwon-Chung1, J C Edman, B L Wickes
1Clinical Mycology Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Abstract:
A pair of congenic Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans strains, B-4476 (a mating type) and B-4500 (alpha mating type), that presumably differ only in mating type was constructed. This pair and their progeny, five alpha type and five a type, were tested for virulence in mice. In the parent strains as well as the progeny, alpha type was clearly more virulent than a type. In addition, death tended to occur earlier among the alpha-strain-infected mice that died than among the mice that died by infection caused by a strains. These data strongly suggest the genetic association of virulence with mating type in this human fungal pathogen.
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