2026-10-08T23:23:25Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33936181 2026-09-18T14:24:00Z category_24250 category_24364 category_24355 category_24187 category_24196 category_24199 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptic Species Exhibit Distinct Strategies for Adaptation to Host-Relevant Conditions Alexandre Mendonça (24209241) Biological adaptation Mycology Infectious agents Biological network analysis Proteomics and metabolomics Sequence analysis Section Fumigati Comparative Genomics Genotype-Phenotype Relationships Host Adaptation Antifungal Resistance <p dir="ltr"><i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> is the leading cause of invasive aspergillosis however, cryptic species within section <i>Fumigati</i> are emerging pathogens due to antifungal resistance and misidentification in routine clinical practice. We investigated whether divergence in virulence-associated proteins accompanies phenotypic diversification across section <i>Fumigati</i>. Forty virulence-associated proteins were analyzed across 71 genomes, while 16 random representative isolates were evaluated under host-relevant conditions. Protein-based multidimensional scaling revealed species-specific divergence in virulence-associated proteins, most prominently for host interactions, and secondary metabolism.</p><p dir="ltr">Phenotype-based principal component analysis reproduced the species-level clustering observed in protein-based analyses, separating <i>A. fumigatus</i> from cryptic species. Cryptic species displayed enhanced metabolic activity and biomass production on alternative respiratory carbon sources, reduced macrophage damage, and higher frequency of pan-azole resistance. <i>A. fumigatus</i> exhibited faster germination, greater metabolic activity and biomass under thermal, osmotic, cell wall and oxidative stress, and enhanced fungal persistence following macrophage interaction. Category-specific protein phylogenies and phenotypic heatmaps demonstrated broad genotype-phenotype concordance.</p><p dir="ltr">Together, these findings demonstrate that divergence in virulence-associated proteins accompanies species-specific metabolic, stress-responses and host-pathogen adaptations across section <i>Fumigati</i>.</p> 2026-09-18T14:24:00Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33936181.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Aspergillus_fumigatus_and_Cryptic_Species_Exhibit_Distinct_Strategies_for_Adaptation_to_Host-Relevant_Conditions/33936181 CC BY 4.0 Open Access after 2027-01-31