Dermatophytes - Arthroderma benhamiae

Dermatophytes include different fungal species, which infect keratinized tissue (skin, nails and, rarely, hair). They can cause fundamental problems for humans mainly intractable superficial infections. It is estimated that 30 % of all humans are infected by dermatophytes. Both diagnostics and therapy are very limited. The fungi of the genus Trichophyton are responsible for the majority of these infections. Arthroderma benhamiae, a teleomorph of Trichophyton mentagrophytes, is a zoophilic dermatophyte, which causes intractable superficial infections and triggers severe inflammatory responses in humans. Natural hosts of A.benhamiae are guinea pigs.

Scientific Aim

There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms of infection and in general, the characteristics of these fungi in order to improve diagnostics and therapy. Until now, information on the genetics, physiology and pathobiology is very limited.

Therefore, it is essential (i) to obtain information on the whole genome and (ii) to establish a genetic model system which allows to elucidate the basis of infection at the molecular level.

The genomes of several opportunistic human-pathogenic fungi, such as different Candida species or Aspergillus fumigatus, have been sequenced in recent years, but the obligate pathogenic fungi like dermatophytes have not been investigated yet. Thus, sequencing of the A.benhamiae genome is of great importance from different points of view; besides the obvious advantages of having the whole sequenced genome for the molecular genetic analyses, it will help to elucidate several other problems:

  •  It is well known that dermatophytes synthesize large number of often unknown secondary metabolites. The knowledge of the whole genome sequence will help to understand their structure and synthesis pathways, and especially their function in colonizing human tissues.

  •   Genome sequencing will enable to identify putative virulence determinants, diagnostic markers and new targets for antmycotic drugs.

  •  The immunological paradox how the fungi manage to modulate the immune defense to tolerate infections in healthy individuals will be solved.

The genome sequence will further help to establish A. benhamiae as a model system for the analysis of dermatophytes at the molecular level.

Project

The Arthroderma benhamiae genome project is the first genome project of a dermatophyte in Europe. A consortium is led by the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knoell Institute (HKI) - in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Age Research, Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Institute of Microbiology and Department of Dermatology and Allergology).

It is funded by the "Pakt fuer Forschung und Innovation" of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Thuringian Ministry of Cultural Affairs (TKM), the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knoell Institute (HKI) and the Leibniz Association.