An outbreak in British Columbia of a sometimes fatal lung and central nervous system infection, caused by the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans provided part of the incentive for this project. Over sixty people in the province have had Cryptococcus lung infections and these people reportedly had healthy immune systems. Worldwide, there are three varieties of this fungus – C. neoformans var. neoformans, grubii and gattii. Researchers in BC are sequencing the gattii variety and are comparing it with the genomes of the other two varieties to understand how this fungus causes disease. This comparison will help the team understand why the gattii variety tends to attack people with an intact immune system, while the other two varieties attack immuno-compromised individuals. Gaining a thorough comprehension of the Cryptococcus genus can contribute to the development of new antifungal drugs and better ways to diagnose fungal infections.
This project involves scientists from the University of British Columbia, the BC Cancer Agency and the BC Cryptococcus Working Group.
A SUMMARY OF THE OUTCOMES FROM THIS COMPLETED PROJECT IS CURRENTLY BEING CONSTRUCTED.
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