Molecular characterization of environmental Cryptococcus neoformans VNII isolates in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria = Caractérisation moléculaire de souches de Cryptococcus neoformans VNII isolés dans l’environnement à Jos, état du Plateau, Nigeria

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are encapsulated yeasts able to cause fatal neurological infections in both human and other mammals. Cryptococcosis is the most common fungal infection of the central nervous system and has a huge burden in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Bird excreta are considered an environmental reservoir for C. neoformans in urban areas, therefore a study aimed at isolating and characterizing this yeast is important in disease management. In this study, one hundred samples of pigeon droppings were collected in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. C. neoformans was isolated from three samples and initially identified using standard phenotypic and biochemical tests. Molecular analysis revealed that all three isolates belonged to C. neoformans genotype VNII, mating type \u3b1 and were assigned to the sequence type ST43 by multilocus sequence typing analysis. This study reports, for the first time, the molecular characterization of C. neoformans in Nigeria, where little is still known about the environmental distribution of the genotypes, serotypes and mating types of this important human pathogen.Cryptococcus neoformans et Cryptococcus gattii sont des levures encapsul\ue9es capables de causer des infections neurologiques mortelles chez l\u2019homme et d\u2019autres mammif\ue8res. La cryptococcose est l\u2019infection fongique la plus commune du syst\ue8me nerveux central avec une incidence \ue9lev\ue9e en Afrique subsaharienne et en Asie du Sud-Est. Les excr\ue9ments d\u2019oiseaux sont consid\ue9r\ue9s comme le r\ue9servoir environnemental pour C. neoformans dans les zones urbaines ; par cons\ue9quent, une \ue9tude visant \ue0 isoler et caract\ue9riser cette levure est utile pour la prise en charge de la maladie. Dans cette \ue9tude, une centaine d\u2019\ue9chantillons de fientes de pigeons a \ue9t\ue9 recueillie \ue0 Jos, Plateau State, au Nigeria. C. neoformans a \ue9t\ue9 isol\ue9 \ue0 partir de trois \ue9chantillons et initialement identifi\ue9s \ue0 l\u2019aide de tests ph\ue9notypique et biochimiques. L\u2019analyse mol\ue9culaire, par multilocus sequence typing, a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que les trois souches appartenaient au type mol\ue9culaire VNII, mating type \u3b1 et au g\ue9notype ST43 par analyse multilocus sequence typing. Cette \ue9tude rend compte, pour la premi\ue8re fois au Nigeria, de la caract\ue9risation mol\ue9culaire de souches environnementales de C. neoformans, o\uf9 peu est encore connu \ue0 propos de la diffusion dans l\u2019environnement des g\ue9notypes, s\ue9rotypes et mating types de cet important pathog\ue8ne humain

Complete Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas Phage Zikora.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen in humans and other animals, frequently harboring mechanisms of resistance to commonly used antimicrobials. Here, we describe the isolation of Pseudomonas bacteriophage Zikora. The full 65,837-bp genome was annotated and demonstrates similarity to Pbunavirus phages, making Zikora a new member of this genus of the Myoviridae family