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Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto Isolated from Soil in an Armadillo’s Burrow

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Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a polymorphic disease of man and animals caused by traumatic implantation of propagules into the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Pathogenic species includes S. brasiliensis, S. schenckii, S. globosa and S. luriei. The disease is remarkable for its occurrence as sapronoses and/or zoonosis outbreaks in tropical and subtropical areas; although, the ecology of the clinical clade is still puzzling. Here, we describe an anamorphic Sporothrix strain isolated from soil in an armadillo’s burrow, which was located in a hyper endemic area of Paracoccidioidomycosis in Brazil. This isolate was identified as S. schenckii sensu stricto (Clade IIa) based on morphological and physiological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of calmodulin sequences. We then discuss the role of the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus as a natural carrier of Sporothrix propagules to better understand Sporothrix sources in nature and reveal essential aspects about the pathogen’s eco-epidemiology.

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Acknowledgments

A.M.R is a fellow and acknowledges the financial support of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP-2011/07350-1). E.B and S.M.G.B (FAPESP-1998/03695-8), and Z.P.C acknowledge the financial support of FAPESP (2009/54024-2). The authors also thanks to Professor Mario Rubens Guimarães Montenegro (in memorian) for histopathology analysis and helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Disciplina de Biologia Celular, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 04023-062, Brazil

    Anderson Messias Rodrigues & Zoilo Pires de Camargo

  2. Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus Botucatu, Botucatu, SP, 18618-970, Brazil

    Eduardo Bagagli & Sandra de Moraes Gimenes Bosco

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  1. Anderson Messias Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Sandra de Moraes Gimenes Bosco.

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Rodrigues, A.M., Bagagli, E., de Camargo, Z.P. et al. Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto Isolated from Soil in an Armadillo’s Burrow. Mycopathologia 177, 199–206 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-014-9734-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-014-9734-8

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