Cited by 175Fungal Infections and StudiesGenetic diversity and population structurePlant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases

Genome Sequences Reveal Cryptic Speciation in the Human Pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum

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Sepúlveda, Victoria E., Márquez, Roberto, Turissini, David A., Goldman, William E., Matute, Daniel R.·2017·mBio

Abstract

Histoplasma capsulatum is a pathogenic fungus that causes life-threatening lung infections. About 500,000 people are exposed to H. capsulatum each year in the United States, and over 60% of the U.S. population has been exposed to the fungus at some point in their life. We performed genome-wide population genetics and phylogenetic analyses with 30 Histoplasma isolates representing four recognized areas where histoplasmosis is endemic and show that the Histoplasma genus is composed of at least four species that are genetically isolated and rarely interbreed. Therefore, we propose a taxonomic rearrangement of the genus. IMPORTANCE The evolutionary processes that give rise to new pathogen lineages are critical to our understanding of how they adapt to new environments and how frequently they exchange genes with each other. The fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum provides opportunities to precisely test hypotheses about the origin of new genetic variation. We find that H. capsulatum is composed of at least four different cryptic species that differ genetically and also in virulence. These results have implications for the epidemiology of histoplasmosis because not all Histoplasma species are equivalent in their geographic range and ability to cause disease.

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  • Histoplasma mississippiense is distributed in the Mississippi River Valley and Histoplasma ohiense in the Ohio River Valley, both in the US.

    “Histoplasma mississippiense is distributed in the Mississippi River Valley and Histoplasma ohiense in the Ohio River Valley, both in the US [162].”

    From Race and ethnicity: Risk factors for fungal infections? (2023) · cites this paper as [162]

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Authors
Sepúlveda, V. E., Márquez, R., Turissini, D. A., Goldman, W. E., & Matute, D. R.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • University of Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Matute, Daniel R.
Venue
mBio
Published
2017-12-29
Volume
8
Issue
6
ISSN
  • 2150-7511 (ISSN-L)
  • 2161-2129
OpenAlex
W2774779777
Cited by
175
References
112
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 7
FWCI
10.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • mBio (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • UNC Libraries
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Fungal Infections and Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
Keywords
Histoplasma capsulatum, cryptic speciation, histoplasmosis, population genetics, phylogenetic analysis, virulence, genetic isolation, endemic areas, fungal evolution
MeSH terms
Histoplasma, Histoplasmosis, Humans, Phylogeny, Genetic Variation, Genome, Fungal, Genetic Speciation

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