Coccidioides immitis appears to be unable to digest particulate collagen when cultured on collagen-containing semisolid culture media. However, all C. immitis strains solubilized collagen when the fungus was grown in liquid suspension cultures. Moreover, sterile culture filtrates were collagenolytic in collagen-buffer-agar plate assays.

Using techniques developed to study melanization in other fungi, we demonstrate that Coccidioides posadasii arthroconidia, spherules, and endospores produce melanin or melanin-like compounds in vitro and tissue forms synthesize pigment in vivo. Since melanin is an important virulence factor in other pathogenic fungi, it may affect the pathogenesis of coccidioidomycosis.

Coccidioides DNA was amplified from serum by a PCR using coccidioid-specific primers. A 239-bp product was visualized when 10 fg of exogenous coccidioidal DNA was subjected to amplification. This product was demonstrated in some human and mouse sera prior to the detection of coccidioidal antibodies.

We describe a case of recurrent coccidioidal meningitis in which a fungal biofilm on the tip of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt tubing was likely responsible for a 4-year persistence of Coccidioides immitis, despite the patient's taking an adequate dosage of fluconazole. Fungal biofilms should be considered as a cause for treatment failure and fungal persistence, especially when artificial prosthes...

To the Editor—We read with great interest Kuberski and Yourison’s hypothesis that Coccidioides spp. and other dimorphic fungi may be the precipitants of sarcoidosis in a proportion of cases [1]. We would like to suggest additional ways to test this hypothesis, as well as suggesting that Cryptococcus spp. be included in the list of fungi considered possible precipitants. A single-center study of...

Sexual reproduction of fungi is governed by the mating type (MAT) locus, a specialized region of the genome encoding key transcriptional regulators that direct regulatory networks to specify cell identity and fate. Knowledge of MAT locus structure and evolution has been considerably advanced in recent years as a result of genomic analyses that enable the definition of MAT locus sequences in man...

Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. Infection is acquired by inhalation of infective arthroconidia that live in the soil. In 60% of cases, the infection is benign and resolves spontaneously. In the northern hemisphere, coccidioidomycosis is endemic to arid and semi-arid regions at latitudes between 40°N and 40°S...