The Pneumocystis life cycle
Data(s) |
01/05/2009
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Resumo |
First recognised as "schizonts" of Trypanosoma cruzi, Pneumocystis organisms are now considered as part of an early-diverging lineage of Ascomycetes. As no robust long-term culture model is available, most data on the Pneumocystis cell cycle have stemmed from ultrastructural images of infected mammalian lungs. Although most fungi developing in animals do not complete a sexual cycle in vivo, Pneumocystis species constitute one of a few exceptions. Recently, the molecular identification of several key players in the fungal mating pathway has provided further evidence for the existence of conjugation and meiosis in Pneumocystisorganisms. Dynamic follow-up of stage-to-stage transition as well as studies of stage-specific proteins and/or genes would provide a better understanding of the still hypothetical Pneumocystislife cycle. Although difficult to achieve, stage purification seems a reasonable way forward in the absence of efficient culture systems. This mini-review provides a comprehensive overview of the historical milestones leading to the current knowledge available on the Pneumocystis life cycle. |
Formato |
text/html |
Identificador |
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762009000300004 |
Idioma(s) |
en |
Publicador |
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde |
Fonte |
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz v.104 n.3 2009 |
Palavras-Chave | #Pneumocystis #cell sorting #life cycle stages #ploidy #mating |
Tipo |
journal article |