The origin of human pathogenicity and biological interactions in Chaetothyriales

Author(s)
Yu Quan, Shuwen Deng, Francesc X. Prenafeta-Boldủ, Veronika E. Mayer, Lucia Muggia, Agnese Cometto, Vania A. Vicente, Nickolas Menezes da Silva, Maria Eduarda Grisolia, Yinggai Song, Sarah A. Ahmed, Xueke Niu, Bruna Jacomel Favoreto de Souza Lima, Peiying Feng, Roxana G. Vitale, Marcus Teixeira, Montarop Sudhadham, Conceicao Pedrozo e Silva de Azevedo, Anamelia Bocca, Gerhard Haase, Laura Selbmann, Dongmei Shi, Yingqian Kang, Sybren de Hoog
Abstract

Fungi in the order Chaetothyriales are renowned for their ability to cause human infections. Nevertheless, they are not regarded as primary pathogens, but rather as opportunists with a natural habitat in the environment. Extremotolerance is a major trend in the order, but quite different from black yeasts in Capnodiales which focus on endurance, an important additional parameter is advancing toxin management. In the ancestral ecology of rock colonization, the association with metabolite-producing lichens is significant. Ant-association, dealing with pheromones and repellents, is another mainstay in the order. The phylogenetically derived family, Herpotrichiellaceae, shows dual ecology in monoaromatic hydrocarbon assimilation and the ability to cause disease in humans and cold-blooded vertebrates. In this study, data on ecology, phylogeny, and genomics were collected and analyzed in order to support this hypothesis on the evolutionary route of the species of Chaetothyriales. Comparing the ribosomal tree with that of enzymes involved in toluene degradation, a significant expansion of cytochromes is observed and the toluene catabolism is found to be complete in some of the Herpotrichiellaceae. This might enhance human systemic infection. However, since most species have to be traumatically inoculated in order to cause disease, their invasive potential is categorized as opportunism. Only in chromoblastomycosis, true pathogenicity might be surmised. The criterion would be the possible escape of agents of vertebrate disease from the host, enabling dispersal of adapted genotypes to subsequent generations.

Organisation(s)
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research
External organisation(s)
Guizhou Medical University, Hengtang People's Hospital, Institut de Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Federal University of Parana, Radboud University, Sun Yat-sen University, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidade de Brasília, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Federal University of Maranhao, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Jining No. 1 People’s Hospital
Journal
Fungal Diversity
Volume
125
Pages
99-120
No. of pages
22
ISSN
1878-9129
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-023-00518-3
Publication date
03-2024
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
106008 Botany, 106012 Evolutionary research, 106042 Systematic botany
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecology
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/fa91b934-071d-42e8-9208-2d62d070cc3f