IMA Fungus 14(1): e34042, doi: 10.1186/s43008-023-00120-x
Human adaptation and diversification in the Microsporum canis complex
Xin Zhou‡, Sybren de Hoog§, Chao Tang‡, Maria Eduarda Grisolia|, José Francisco Warth¶, Kristen Webster#, Andrea Peano¤, Silke Uhrlass«, Claudia Cafarchia», Marie Pierre Hayette˄, Rosalie Sacheli˄, Tadeja Matos˅, Yingqian Kang¦, G. Sybren De Hoogˀ, Peiying Fengˁ‡ Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Center of Expertise in Mycology of Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen§ Utrecht, Netherlands| Federal University of Paraná, Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology, Curitiba, Brazil¶ Federal University of Paraná, Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology Graduate Program, Curitiba, Brazil# University Hospitals, Department of Dermatology, Center for Medical Mycology, Cleveland¤ University of Turin, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Grugliasco, Italy« Labor für Medizinische Mikrobiologie Nenoff / Krüger, Mölbis, Germany» University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Bari, Italy˄ University Hospital of Liege, Belgian National Reference Center, Clinical Microbiology, Liege, Belgium˅ University of Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Ljubljana, Slovenia¦ Guizhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education of Guizhou and Guizhou Talent Base for Microbiology and Human Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guiyang, Chinaˀ CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrechtˁ Sun Yat-senen University, Department of Dermatology, 3rd Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou, China
© Xin Zhou, Sybren de Hoog, Chao Tang, Maria Grisolia, José Warth, Kristen Webster, Andrea Peano, Silke Uhrlass, Claudia Cafarchia, Marie Hayette, Rosalie Sacheli, Tadeja Matos, Yingqian Kang, G. De Hoog, Peiying Feng. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes, provided that the article is not altered or modified and the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Zhou X, de Hoog S, Tang C, Grisolia M, Warth J, Webster K, Peano A, Uhrlass S, Cafarchia C, Hayette M, Sacheli R, Matos T, Kang Y, De Hoog GS, Feng P (2023) Human adaptation and diversification in the Microsporum canis complex. IMA Fungus 14(1): e34042. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00120-x |  |
Abstract
The Microsporum canis complex consists of one zoophilic species, M. canis, and two anthropophilic species, M. audouinii and M. ferrugineum. These species are the most widespread zoonotic pathogens causing dermatophytosis in cats and humans worldwide. To clarify the evolutionary relationship between the three species and explore the potential host shift process, this study used phylogenetic analysis, population structure analysis, multispecies coalescent analyses, determination of MAT idiomorph distribution, sexual crosses, and macromorphology and physicochemical features to address the above questions. The complex of Microsporum canis, M. audouinii and M. ferrugineum comprises 12 genotypes. MAT1-1 was present only in M. canis, while the anthropophilic entities contained MAT1-2. The pseudocleistothecia were yielded by the mating behaviour of M. canis and M. audouinii. Growth rates and lipase, keratinolysis and urea hydrolytic capacities of zoophilic M. canis isolates were all higher than those of anthropophilic strains; DNase activity of M. ferrugineum exceeded that of M. canis. The optimum growth temperature was 28 °C, but 22 °C favoured the development of macroconidia. Molecular data, physicochemical properties and phenotypes suggest the adaptation of zoophilic M. canis to anthropophilic M. ferrugineum, with M. audouinii in an intermediate position.
Keywords
Dermatophytes, Host shift, Phylogeny, MAT idiomorph distribution, Physicochemical features, Tinea capitis