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Capsule production is common among bacterial species, but relatively rare in eukaryotic microorganisms. Members of the fungal  Cryptococcus  genus are known to produce capsules, which are major determinants of virulence in the highly pathogenic species  Cryptococcus neoformans  and  Cryptococcus gattii . Although the lack of virulence of many species of the  Cryptococcus  genus can be explained solely by the lack of mammalian thermotolerance, it is uncertain whether the capsules from these organisms are comparable to those of the pathogenic cryptococci. In this study, we compared the characteristic of the capsule from the non-pathogenic environmental yeast  Cryptococcus liquefaciens  with that of  C. neoformans . Microscopic observations revealed that  C. liquefaciens  has a capsule visible in India ink preparations that was also efficiently labeled by three antibodies generated to specific  C. neoformans  capsular antigens. Capsular polysaccharides of  C. liquefaciens  were incorporated onto the cell surface of acapsular  C. neoformans  mutant cells. Polysaccharide composition determinations in combination with confocal microscopy revealed that  C. liquefaciens  capsule consisted of mannose, xylose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galactose and N-acetylglucosamine. Physical chemical analysis of the  C. liquefaciens  polysaccharides in comparison with  C. neoformans  samples revealed significant differences in viscosity, elastic properties and macromolecular structure parameters of polysaccharide solutions such as rigidity, effective diameter, zeta potential and molecular mass, which nevertheless appeared to be characteristics of linear polysaccharides that also comprise capsular polysaccharide of  C. neoformans . The environmental yeast, however, showed enhanced susceptibility to the antimicrobial activity of the environmental phagocytes, suggesting that the  C. liquefaciens  capsular components are insufficient in protecting yeast cells against killing by amoeba. These results suggest that capsular structures in pathogenic  Cryptococcus  species and environmental species share similar features, but also manifest significant difference that could influence their potential to virulence.

plos one

Capsules from Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Cryptococcus spp. Manifest Significant Differences in Structure and Ability to Protect against Phagocytic Cells