DNA-barcoded, analysis of environmental
high-throughput sequencing data should refine
our estimates about biogeography and ecology
in the future.
C. Animal and Human Pathogens
C. neoformans, the yeast stage ofF. neoformans,
is an opportunistic pathogen in immunocom-
promised humans and animals around the
world. The fungus is able to infest immuno-
competent individuals without causing notice-
able disease symptoms. However, in
immunocompromised individuals, for exam-
ple, those with an HIV infection, it may dissem-
inate from a local infection to any organ of a
patient and in particular invade the central
nervous system. Today,C. neoformansis one
of the leading pathogens worldwide that can be
grown from cerebrospinal fluid (Perfect 2005 ).
Each year cryptococcal meningoencephalitis is
diagnosed in nearly a million individuals and
accounts for more than 600,000 deaths (Park
et al. 2009 ). Even if treated with state-of-the-art
therapy, cryptococcosis is fatal in ca. 20 % of
cases (Desnos-Ollivier et al. 2010 ). As the
closely relatedCryptococcus gattii(anamorph
ofFilobasidiella bacillispora), C. neoformans
apparently has a wide spectrum of potential
host taxa, including both vertebrate and inver-
tebrate species and even protozoans [see Kwon-
Chung ( 2011 )].
The genus Trichosporon contains many
known pathogens of animals and humans, and
more than 30 % ofTrichosporonspecies wereKwoniella heveanensis AF075467Bullera dendrophila AF189870Cryptococcus tephrensis DQ000318Bullera miyagiana AF189858Cryptococcus carnescens DQ516975Cryptococcus cuniculi DQ333885Bullera sakaeratica AY211546Cryptococcus dejecticola AY917102Tremella globispora AF189869Cryptococcus bestiolae FJ534903Tremella lichenicola JN043611Trimorphomyces nebularis EU266921Tremella wirthii JN043598Tremella taiwanensis AF042230Tremella tuckerae JN043588Bullera globispora AF075509Tremella cetrariicola JN043596Tremella resupinata AF042239Kwoniella mangrovensis AF444742Cryptococcus laurentii DQ644575Biatoropsis usnearum JN043592Tremella tropica AF042251Tremella giraffa AF042271Tremella pertusariae JN043600Cryptococcus taibaiensis AY557601Cryptococcus heimaeyensis DQ000317Tremella mesenterica AF075518Tremella fuciformis AF075476Cryptococcus dimennae AF075489Cryptococcus yokohamensis HM222927Tremella cinnabarina AF189866Tremella parmeliarum JN043618Tremella everniae JN043599Tremella coppinsii JN043601Trimorphomyces papilionaceus AF416645Tremella brasiliensis AF189864Tremella hypogymniae JN043590Cryptococcus foliicola AY557599Tremella flava AF042221Cryptococcus victoriae AF3636475497699193519840485886996310010046496296670.1HoltermannialesCystofilobasidialesFilobasidialesTremellalesTrichosporonales212225262324Fig. 12.7(continued)
344 M. Weiss et al.