TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Ready made' virulence and 'dual use' virulence factors in pathogenic environmental fungi - The Cryptococcus neoformans paradigm
AU - Casadevall, Arturo
AU - Steenbergen, Judith N.
AU - Nosanchuk, Joshua D.
PY - 2003/8
Y1 - 2003/8
N2 - Environmental pathogenic fungi present a paradox in that they are virulent in animals without requiring animal hosts for replication or survival, a phenomenon we call 'ready-made' virulence. In the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, the capacity for virulence in animals may originate from environmental selective pressures imposed by such organisms as amoeboid and nematode predators. Many C. neoformans virulence factors appear to have 'dual use' capabilities that confer survival advantages in both animal hosts and in the environment. The findings with C. neoformans may provide a paradigm for understanding the origin and maintenance of virulence in other pathogenic environmental fungi.
AB - Environmental pathogenic fungi present a paradox in that they are virulent in animals without requiring animal hosts for replication or survival, a phenomenon we call 'ready-made' virulence. In the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, the capacity for virulence in animals may originate from environmental selective pressures imposed by such organisms as amoeboid and nematode predators. Many C. neoformans virulence factors appear to have 'dual use' capabilities that confer survival advantages in both animal hosts and in the environment. The findings with C. neoformans may provide a paradigm for understanding the origin and maintenance of virulence in other pathogenic environmental fungi.
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U2 - 10.1016/S1369-5274(03)00082-1
DO - 10.1016/S1369-5274(03)00082-1
M3 - Review article
C2 - 12941400
AN - SCOPUS:0043197395
SN - 1369-5274
VL - 6
SP - 332
EP - 337
JO - Current Opinion in Microbiology
JF - Current Opinion in Microbiology
IS - 4
ER -