Victoria E Sepúlveda, William E Goldman, Daniel R Matute
{"title":"Genotypic diversity, virulence, and molecular genetic tools in <i>Histoplasma</i>.","authors":"Victoria E Sepúlveda, William E Goldman, Daniel R Matute","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00076-23","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>SUMMARY</b>Histoplasmosis is arguably the most common fungal respiratory infection worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of new infections occurring annually in the United States alone. The infection can progress in the lung or disseminate to visceral organs and can be difficult to treat with antifungal drugs. <i>Histoplasma</i>, the causative agent of the disease, is a pathogenic fungus that causes life-threatening lung infections and is globally distributed. The fungus has the ability to germinate from conidia into either hyphal (mold) or yeast form, depending on the environmental temperature. This transition also regulates virulence. <i>Histoplasma</i> and histoplasmosis have been classified as being of emergent importance, and in 2022, the World Health Organization included <i>Histoplasma</i> as 1 of the 19 most concerning human fungal pathogens. In this review, we synthesize the current understanding of the ecological niche, evolutionary history, and virulence strategies of <i>Histoplasma</i>. We also describe general patterns of the symptomatology and epidemiology of histoplasmosis. We underscore areas where research is sorely needed and highlight research avenues that have been productive.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11332355/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00076-23","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/31 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
SUMMARYHistoplasmosis is arguably the most common fungal respiratory infection worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of new infections occurring annually in the United States alone. The infection can progress in the lung or disseminate to visceral organs and can be difficult to treat with antifungal drugs. Histoplasma, the causative agent of the disease, is a pathogenic fungus that causes life-threatening lung infections and is globally distributed. The fungus has the ability to germinate from conidia into either hyphal (mold) or yeast form, depending on the environmental temperature. This transition also regulates virulence. Histoplasma and histoplasmosis have been classified as being of emergent importance, and in 2022, the World Health Organization included Histoplasma as 1 of the 19 most concerning human fungal pathogens. In this review, we synthesize the current understanding of the ecological niche, evolutionary history, and virulence strategies of Histoplasma. We also describe general patterns of the symptomatology and epidemiology of histoplasmosis. We underscore areas where research is sorely needed and highlight research avenues that have been productive.
期刊介绍:
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews (MMBR), a journal that explores the significance and interrelationships of recent discoveries in various microbiology fields, publishes review articles that help both specialists and nonspecialists understand and apply the latest findings in their own research. MMBR covers a wide range of topics in microbiology, including microbial ecology, evolution, parasitology, biotechnology, and immunology. The journal caters to scientists with diverse interests in all areas of microbial science and encompasses viruses, bacteria, archaea, fungi, unicellular eukaryotes, and microbial parasites. MMBR primarily publishes authoritative and critical reviews that push the boundaries of knowledge, appealing to both specialists and generalists. The journal often includes descriptive figures and tables to enhance understanding. Indexed/Abstracted in various databases such as Agricola, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Service, Current Contents- Life Sciences, EMBASE, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, Illustrata, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), Summon, and Scopus, among others.