Open AccessHumans Are Selectively Exposed to Pneumocystis jirovecii
Author(s) -
Ousmane Cissé,
Liang Ma,
Chao Jiang,
M Snyder,
Joseph A. Kovacs
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mbio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.562
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 2161-2129
pISSN - 2150-7511
DOI - 10.1128/mbio.03138-19
Subject(s) - pneumocystis jirovecii , biology , biological dispersal , metagenomics , mucormycosis , transmission (telecommunications) , virology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medicine , environmental health , gene , genetics , population , pathology , electrical engineering , engineering
Environmental exposure has a significant impact on human health. While some airborne fungi can cause life-threatening infections, the impact of environment on fungal spore dispersal and transmission is poorly understood. The democratization of shotgun metagenomics allows us to explore important questions about fungal propagation. We focus onPneumocystis , a genus of host-specific fungi that infect mammals via airborne particles. In humans,Pneumocystis jirovecii causes lethal infections in immunocompromised patients if untreated, although its environmental reservoir and transmission route remain unclear.