First report of environmental isolation of Cryptococcus spp. from Boyacá - Colombia

Abstract Background The Cryptococcus genus comprises more than 80 species, of which C. neoformans and C. gattii are the leading cause of cryptococcosis. The distribution of C. gattii and C. neoformans complex has been extensively studied and widely reported globally. Other species such as C. albidus , C. laurentii , and C. flavescens have been reported as pathogenic yeast. Since there are no reports of environmental isolation in the Boyacá region (Colombia), this study aimed to isolate and characterize the species of Cryptococcus from pigeon feces, eucalyptus, and olive trees distributed in the municipalities of Tunja and Ricaute Alto. Results The environmental data was recovered, and the isolations obtained were identified by microscopy, biochemical test, MALDI-TOF, RFLP of the URA5 gene, and sequencing of the ITS and LSU gene. For the 93 pigeon dropping samples collected in Tunja, 23 corresponded to C. neoformans , 3 to C. saitoi , 2 C. albidus and 1 to C. laurentii . Of the 1188 samples collected from olive trees, 17 (1.43%) positive samples were identified as C. gattii (4), C. neoformans var. grubii (2), C. laurentii (3), C. albidus (2), C. saitoi (5) and C. flavescens (1). Likewise, specimens of C. neoformans var. grubii presented molecular type VNI and molecular type VNII; for C. gattii the molecular types found were VGIII and VGIV. Conclusions Therefore, it can be concluded that the species of Cryptococcus genus, are present in the environment of Boyacá, and show a predilection for climate conditions that are typical of this region.