Evolutionary origin and population diversity of a cryptic hybrid pathogen
Cryptic fungal pathogens pose disease management challenges due to their morphological resemblance to known pathogens. Here, we investigated the genomes and phenotypes of 53 globally distributed isolates of Aspergillus section Nidulantes fungi and found 30 clinical isolates-including four isolated from COVID-19 patients-were A. latus, a cryptic pathogen that originated via allodiploid hybridization. Notably, all A. latus isolates were misidentified. A. latus hybrids likely originated via a single hybridization event during the Miocene and harbor substantial genetic diversity. Transcriptome profiling of a clinical isolate revealed that both parental subgenomes are actively expressed and respond to environmental stimuli. Characterizing infection-relevant traits-such as drug resistance and growth under oxidative stress-revealed distinct phenotypic profiles among A. latus hybrids compared to parental and closely related species. Moreover, we identified four features that could aid A. latus taxonomic identification. Together, these findings deepen our understanding of the origin of cryptic pathogens.
Authors
- Yuanning Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2206-5804)
- Angélica Zaninelli Schreiber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5095-5054)
- Thaila Fernanda dos Reis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7776-977X)
- Patrícia Alves de Castro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3045-6511)
- María Almagro-Moltó
- Nicholas H. Oberlies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0354-8464)
- Fernando Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8436-9398)
- Ana Cristina Colabardini
- David Cánovas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7293-7332)
- Gustavo H. Goldman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2986-350X)
- Huzefa A. Raja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0824-9463)
- Endrews Delbaje (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0313-9046)
- Antonis Rokas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7248-6551)
- Charu Balamurugan
- Rafael Sanchez Luperini
- Jacob L. Steenwyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8436-595X)
- Laís Pontes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6172-3219)
- Camila Figueiredo Pinzan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7635-2107)
- Katrien Lagrou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8668-1350)
- Alexandre Alanio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9726-3082)
- Dea Garcia‐Hermoso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5288-2904)
- Egídio Torrado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7462-8234)
- Adiyantara Gumilang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8887-9763)
- Xiaofan Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2879-6317)
- Rafael Wesley Bastos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6781-9617)
- Matthew E. Mead
- David C. Rinker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5894-7633)
- Christopher D. Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0949-1320)
- S E Knowles
Institutions
- South China Agricultural University (CN)
- Synlab Czech (Czechia) (CZ)
- Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (BR)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR)
- Qingdao Binhai University (CN)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR)
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
- Institut de Myologie (FR)
- Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. (United States) (US)
- Instituto de Ciências Farmacêuticas (BR)
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene (DE)
- Hôpital Saint-Louis (FR)
- Vanderbilt Health (US)
- National Institute of Science and Technology (ID)
- Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- KU Leuven (BE)
- University of Minho (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52639-1
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- Life Sciences Research Foundation
- European Commission
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- National Institutes of Health
- European Regional Development Fund
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases