The buoyancy of cryptococcal cells and its implications for transport and persistence of <i>Cryptococcus</i> in aqueous environments

Cryptococcosis is a major fungal disease leading to morbidity and mortality worldwide. <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> is a major fungal species of public health concern, causing opportunistic systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i> was traditionally a pathogenic fungus confined primarily to tropical regions, but in the 1990s, it emerged in the temperate climates of British Columbia, Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Outbreaks in these areas also led to the first host record of cryptococcosis in free-ranging cetaceans. <i>C. gattii</i> is particularly concerning as an emerging fungal pathogen due to its capacity to cause clinical disease in immunocompetent patients, its recent spread to a new ecological niche, and its higher resistance to antifungal therapies. Our research defines fungal characteristics that influence the transport of cryptococci through water and persistence of fungal cells near the water surface, improving our understanding of potential mechanisms for cryptococcal environmental transport.