Fig 1.
Phylogenetic relationships and possible environmental Interactions of Cryptococcus species in Africa.
(A) Cladogram illustrating the phylogenetic relationships among Cryptococcus species and the related genera Kwoniella and Teunia within the family Cryptococcaceae (with branches for Teunia spp., Kwoniella spp., and the outgroup compressed for easier visualization; based on refs. [21,38]). Opportunistic pathogenic Cryptococcus species, including C. neoformans (Cn), C. deneoformans (Cd), and the C. gattii (Cg) species complex (SC) are highlighted in orange as indicated in the key. An asterisk (*) denotes that Cg VGV has not yet been implicated in human infection. (B) The diversity of Cryptococcus species on the African continent suggests that Africa is not only a hotspot of diversity but also a backdrop for Cryptococcus evolution, facilitated by interactions with various competitors (e.g., amoebae and soil bacteria), hosts, and dispersal vectors (plants, insects, birds, and mammals). Panel B was generated with BioRender (https://www.biorender.com/).