Comparative Genomics of Vietnamese Cryptococcus neoformans. CN_VN_GIS

The vast burden of cryptococcal meningitis occurs in immunosuppressed patients, driven by HIV, and is due to Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. We previously reported cryptococcal meningitis in Vietnam arising atypically in HIV uninfected, apparently immunocompetent patients, caused by a single amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) cluster of C. grubii (VNIγ). This variant was less common in HIV infected individuals; it remains unclear why this lineage is associated with apparently immunocompetent patients. To study this host tropism we aimed to further our understanding of variation within Vietnamese C. grubii.