ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1610481
Exploring the diversity and pathogenicity of Talaromyces species isolated from clinical in Southern China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Dermatology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
- 2Guangxi Scientific and Technological Innovation Cooperation Base of Mycosis Prevention and Control, Nanning, China
- 3Guangxi Key Laboratory of Mycosis Prevention and Treatment & Guangxi Key Laboratory of AIDS Prevention and Treatment, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- 4Department of Laboratory, Maternity and Child Health Care of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China
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In recent years, some species of Talaromyces have emerged as human pathogens but rarely reported from Southern China, the endemic region of Talaromyces marneffei. To investigate the diversity of Talaromyces species in Southern China, we collected 59 clinical Talaromyces isolates, which were identified as 11 different species through molecular analysis. Notably, several species exhibited phenotypic characteristics similar to T. marneffei, such as red pigment production at 25°C and monoverticillate or biverticillate conidiophores with globose to subglobose conidia, potentially leading to misidentification. Antifungal susceptibility testing revealed distinct drug susceptibility profiles between T. marneffei and other species. Furthermore, seven species demonstrated growth at 37°C and induced inflammatory lung damage in mice, suggesting their pathogenic potential. These emerging Talaromyces pathogens were primarily isolated from respiratory tract samples of immunocompromised patients. Our findings highlight the rich diversity of Talaromyces species clinically in Southern China, emphasizing the critical importance of considering their potentially pathogenic.
Keywords: Talaromyces, Southern China, diversity, Drug Susceptibility, pathogenicity
Received: 12 Apr 2025; Accepted: 11 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liao, Pan, Zheng, Wang, Wu and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Cunwei Cao, Department of Dermatology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
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