TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular markers in the epidemiology and diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis
AU - Duarte-Escalante, Esperanza
AU - Frías-De-León, María Guadalupe
AU - Zúñiga, Gerardo
AU - Martínez-Herrera, Erick
AU - Acosta-Altamirano, Gustavo
AU - Reyes-Montes, María del Rocío
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is a partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). EDE acknowledges the support from the Program in Biological Sciences. This project was funded by PAPIIT-DGAPA ( IN215509-3 ).
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - The prevalence of coccidioidomycosis in endemic areas has been observed to increase daily. To understand the causes of the spread of the disease and design strategies for fungal detection in clinical and environmental samples, scientists have resorted to molecular tools that allow fungal detection in a natural environment, reliable identification in clinical cases and the study of biological characteristics, such as reproductive and genetic structure, demographic history and diversification. We conducted a review of the most important molecular markers in the epidemiology of Coccidioides spp. and the diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis. A literature search was performed for scientific publications concerning the application of molecular tools for the epidemiology and diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis. The use of molecular markers in the epidemiological study and diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis has allowed for the typing of Coccidioides spp. isolates, improved understanding of their mode of reproduction, genetic variation and speciation and resulted in the development specific, rapid and sensitive strategies for detecting the fungus in environmental and clinical samples. Molecular markers have revealed genetic variability in Coccidioides spp. This finding influences changes in the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis, such as the emergence of more virulent or antifungal resistant genotypes. Furthermore, the molecular markers currently used to identify Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii are specific and sensitive. However, they must be validated to determine their application in diagnosis.This manuscript is part of the series of works presented at the "V International Workshop: Molecular genetic approaches to the study of human pathogenic fungi" (Oaxaca, Mexico, 2012).
AB - The prevalence of coccidioidomycosis in endemic areas has been observed to increase daily. To understand the causes of the spread of the disease and design strategies for fungal detection in clinical and environmental samples, scientists have resorted to molecular tools that allow fungal detection in a natural environment, reliable identification in clinical cases and the study of biological characteristics, such as reproductive and genetic structure, demographic history and diversification. We conducted a review of the most important molecular markers in the epidemiology of Coccidioides spp. and the diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis. A literature search was performed for scientific publications concerning the application of molecular tools for the epidemiology and diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis. The use of molecular markers in the epidemiological study and diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis has allowed for the typing of Coccidioides spp. isolates, improved understanding of their mode of reproduction, genetic variation and speciation and resulted in the development specific, rapid and sensitive strategies for detecting the fungus in environmental and clinical samples. Molecular markers have revealed genetic variability in Coccidioides spp. This finding influences changes in the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis, such as the emergence of more virulent or antifungal resistant genotypes. Furthermore, the molecular markers currently used to identify Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii are specific and sensitive. However, they must be validated to determine their application in diagnosis.This manuscript is part of the series of works presented at the "V International Workshop: Molecular genetic approaches to the study of human pathogenic fungi" (Oaxaca, Mexico, 2012).
KW - Coccidioides spp.
KW - Genetic variability
KW - Molecular markers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893715942&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.riam.2013.09.011
DO - 10.1016/j.riam.2013.09.011
M3 - Estudio breve
SN - 1130-1406
VL - 31
SP - 49
EP - 53
JO - Revista Iberoamericana de Micologia
JF - Revista Iberoamericana de Micologia
IS - 1
ER -