Researchers compared the genomes of 95 Sporothrix fungi, the cause of a spreading cat-linked skin infection in South America. The recently expanded S. brasiliensis shows little genetic variety, while dozens of gene changes may help it tolerate the antifungal drug itraconazole.
1
Whole-genome analysis of 95 Sporothrix isolates found 610,242 SNPs within S. brasiliensis versus 1,474,627 within S. schenckii, showing far lower diversity in the epidemic species.
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S. brasiliensis split into six closely related clades consistent with recent expansion, while S. schenckii showed deep separation between North and South American lineages.
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A GWAS of itraconazole resistance identified 81 SNPs, many in genes for transport, signaling, and redox balance, pointing to a polygenic basis; copy number changes affected 158 genes in S. brasiliensis and 88 in S. schenckii.
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