Coccidioidomycosis,commonly known as cocci,Valley fever,as well as California fever,desert rheumatism,or San Joaquin Valley fever,is a mammalian fungal disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in certain parts of the United States in Arizona,California,Nevada,New Mexico,Texas,Utah,and northern Mexico.
Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) is the spacer DNA situated between the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and large-subunit rRNA genes in the chromosome or the corresponding transcribed region in the polycistronic rRNA precursor transcript.
An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. Arbuscular mycorrhiza is a type of endomycorrhiza along with ericoid mycorrhiza and orchid mycorrhiza. They are characterized by the formation of unique tree-like structures,the arbuscules. In addition,globular storage structures called vesicles are often encountered.
Glomeromycota are one of eight currently recognized divisions within the kingdom Fungi,with approximately 230 described species. Members of the Glomeromycota form arbuscular mycorrhizas (AMs) with the thalli of bryophytes and the roots of vascular land plants. Not all species have been shown to form AMs,and one,Geosiphon pyriformis,is known not to do so. Instead,it forms an endocytobiotic association with Nostoc cyanobacteria. The majority of evidence shows that the Glomeromycota are dependent on land plants for carbon and energy,but there is recent circumstantial evidence that some species may be able to lead an independent existence. The arbuscular mycorrhizal species are terrestrial and widely distributed in soils worldwide where they form symbioses with the roots of the majority of plant species (>80%). They can also be found in wetlands,including salt-marshes,and associated with epiphytic plants.
Lorna Ann Casselton,was a British academic and biologist. She was Professor Emeritus of Fungal Genetics in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Oxford,and was known for her genetic and molecular analysis of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus and Coprinus lagopus.
The Laboulbeniales is an order of Fungi within the class Laboulbeniomycetes. They are also known by the colloquial name beetle hangers or labouls. The order includes around 2,325 species of obligate insect ectoparasites that produce cellular thalli from two-celled ascospores. Of the described Laboulbeniales,Weir and Hammond 1997 find 80% to be from Coleoptera and the next largest group to be the 10% from Diptera. Recently,the genus Herpomyces,traditionally considered a basal member of Laboulbeniales,was transferred to the order Herpomycetales based on molecular phylogenetic data. Laboulbeniales typically do not kill their hosts,although they may impair host fitness if the parasite density is high.
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a dimorphic fungus and one of the two species that cause paracoccidioidomycosis. The fungus has been affiliated with the family Ajellomycetaceae although a sexual state or teleomorph has not yet been found.
Dimorphic fungi are fungi that can exist in the form of both mold and yeast. This is usually brought about by change in temperature and the fungi are also described as thermally dimorphic fungi. An example is Talaromyces marneffei,a human pathogen that grows as a mold at room temperature,and as a yeast at human body temperature.
Coccidioides posadasii is a pathogenic fungus that,along with Coccidioides immitis,is the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis,or valley fever in humans. It resides in the soil in certain parts of the Southwestern United States,northern Mexico,and some other areas in the Americas,but its evolution was connected to its animal hosts.
Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Although fungi are eukaryotic,many pathogenic fungi are microorganisms. Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans;their study is called "medical mycology". Fungal infections are estimated to kill more people than either tuberculosis or malaria—about two million people per year.
A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds,as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms,along with Animalia,Plantae and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.
Marine fungi are species of fungi that live in marine or estuarine environments. They are not a taxonomic group,but share a common habitat. Obligate marine fungi grow exclusively in the marine habitat while wholly or sporadically submerged in sea water. Facultative marine fungi normally occupy terrestrial or freshwater habitats,but are capable of living or even sporulating in a marine habitat. About 444 species of marine fungi have been described,including seven genera and ten species of basidiomycetes,and 177 genera and 360 species of ascomycetes. The remainder of the marine fungi are chytrids and mitosporic or asexual fungi. Many species of marine fungi are known only from spores and it is likely a large number of species have yet to be discovered. In fact,it is thought that less than 1% of all marine fungal species have been described,due to difficulty in targeting marine fungal DNA and difficulties that arise in attempting to grow cultures of marine fungi. It is impracticable to culture many of these fungi,but their nature can be investigated by examining seawater samples and undertaking rDNA analysis of the fungal material found.
Forensic mycology is the use of mycology in criminal investigations. Mycology is used in estimating times of death or events by using known growth rates of fungi,in providing trace evidence,and in locating corpses. It also includes tracking mold growth in buildings,the use of fungi in biological warfare,and the use of psychotropic and toxic fungus varieties as illicit drugs or causes of death.
Jeffrey Donald Palmer is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington.
Uncinocarpus reesii is a species of saprotrophic microfungi that grows in soil and on keratinous materials such as hair,feathers and skin. It was the first species to be designated as part of the genus Uncinocarpus,owing in part to its characteristic development of hooked (uncinate) appendages. As the closest non-pathogenic relative of Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii,it has become a subject of research interest.
Joseph Heitman is an American physician-scientist focused on research in genetics,microbiology,and infectious diseases. He is the James B. Duke Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine.
Fungal DNA barcoding is the process of identifying species of the biological kingdom Fungi through the amplification and sequencing of specific DNA sequences and their comparison with sequences deposited in a DNA barcode database such as the ISHAM reference database,or the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). In this attempt,DNA barcoding relies on universal genes that are ideally present in all fungi with the same degree of sequence variation. The interspecific variation,i.e.,the variation between species,in the chosen DNA barcode gene should exceed the intraspecific (within-species) variation.
Chester Wilson Emmons was an American scientist,who researched fungi that cause diseases. He was the first mycologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH),where for 31 years he served as head of its Medical Mycology Section.
A. Elizabeth "Betsy" Arnold is an American evolutionary biologist who is Professor of Plant Sciences and Curator of the Robert L. Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium at the University of Arizona. Her research considers fungal biology. She was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2021.
Libero Ajello was an American mycologist. He cofounded and was first president of the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM). He was the head of the Division of Mycotic Diseases at the Communicable Disease Center (CDC),and editor of the ISHAM Journal Medical Mycology for several years. He was one of the first researchers to investigate histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis in the United States and made valuable contributions to the comprehensive field of veterinary and human fungal disease diagnosis.
