Metagenomics reveals an abundance of black yeast-like fungi in the skin microbiome.

Background: The skin is the first line of defence against communities of resident viruses, bacteria and fungi. The composition of the microbiome might change with factors related to the environment and host. The microbiome is dominated by bacteria.

Environmental Screening of Agents of Chromoblastomycosis Using Rolling Circle Amplification.

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic, cutaneous or subcutaneous mycosis characterized by the presence of muriform cells in host tissue. Implantation disease is caused by melanized fungi related to black yeasts, which, in humid tropical climates, are mainly members of the genus . In endemic areas of Brazil, and are the prevalent species.

Environmental prospecting of black yeast-like agents of human disease using culture-independent methodology.

Melanized fungi and black yeasts in the family Herpotrichiellaceae (order Chaetothyriales) are important agents of human and animal infectious diseases such as chromoblastomycosis and phaeohyphomycosis. The oligotrophic nature of these fungi enables them to survive in adverse environments where common saprobes are absent. Due to their slow growth, they lose competition with common saprobes, and therefore isolation studies yielded low frequencies of clinically relevant species in environmental habitats from which humans are thought to be infected.

Genome Sequence of the Human Opportunistic Fungus (CBS 136243).

The black yeast-like fungus is known from strains that cause severe and eventually fatal disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients. Given the dramatic outcome of this clinical case, it is essential to understand the virulence potential of this species. The fungus is a member of the family , at some phylogenetic distance from the where most infectious fungi in the order are located.