ARS | Publication request: PHYLOGENETIC DIVERSITY OF MEDICALLY IMPORTANT FUSARIA

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: May 25, 2003
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Due to the paucity of phenotypic traits, morphological species recognition greatly underestimates the number of clinically important species of the opportunistic filamentous ascomycete Fusarium. To address this problem, species limits are being investigated using multilocus DNA sequence data, using a genealogical concordance version of phylogenetic species recognition. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that most isolates from infected humans and other animals fall within one of three large species complexes (F. solani, F. oxysporum and F. moniliforme/ Gibberella fujikuroi). Understanding the genetic diversity and species boundaries within each of these complexes should provide valuable tools for molecular epidemiological studies focused on tracing the environmental sources of these opportunistic molds. Ongoing research is directed at expanding this database to reflect the global genetic diversity of Fusarium. To illustrate the utility of this multilocus DNA sequence database, fusaria isolated from infected patients are compared with hospital environmental samples to address the following question: Are the species most commonly isolated from humans conspecific with the ones most prevalent within a hospital environment? Lastly, accurate knowledge of species limits of the fusaria may prove to be an important component of therapy since species may respond differently to antifungal drugs.