Ploidy Determination in the Pathogenic Fungus Sporothrix spp

Area of Science:

• Mycology
• Genetics
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The pathogenic Sporothrix genus causes sporotrichosis, an emerging global disease.
• Understanding the genome size and ploidy of Sporothrix species is limited, hindering further research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the ploidy of four pathogenic Sporothrix species: S. brasiliensis, S. schenckii, S. globosa, and S. pallida.
• To establish a foundation for developing molecular tools for Sporothrix spp.

Main Methods:

• Cell cycle analysis of yeast-phase cells to assess DNA content.
• Whole genome sequencing to determine genome size.
• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyze allele composition for ploidy determination.

Main Results:

• DNA content in G0/G1 cells correlated with genome size from whole genome sequencing.
• Allele composition analysis via NGS confirmed monomorphic positions, indicating haploidy.
• The analyzed Sporothrix strains were determined to be haploid or aneuploid.

Conclusions:

• The study establishes that common pathogenic Sporothrix species are haploid.
• This ploidy information is foundational for creating advanced molecular diagnostic and therapeutic tools for sporotrichosis.