摘要 : <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> and <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i> are found in distinct environments with some overlap around different parts of the world. However, no systematic surveys of these two pathogens have been reported from ... 展开 <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> and <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i> are found in distinct environments with some overlap around different parts of the world. However, no systematic surveys of these two pathogens have been reported from Puerto Rico, a tropical island uniquely situated between mainland USA and countries in South America. We carried out an exhaustive environmental survey in southwestern Puerto Rico for pathogenic Cryptococcus species. Twenty-two presumptive isolates of <i>C. gattii</i> from cacti and tree detritus were characterized in detail by physiological and molecular methods and seventeen strains were confirmed as <i>C. gattii</i>. <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i> isolates were haploid and MAT strains. Sixteen out of seventeen <i>C. gattii</i> isolates belonged to VGII/AFLP6 genotype while one isolate was a VGIV/AFLP7 genotype. The results are significant as Puerto Rico strains are distinct from VGIII/AFLP5 strains reported from Southern California, but similar to <i>C. gattii</i> VGII/AFLP6 molecular type implicated in recent outbreaks of cryptococcosis in Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, Canada, but different in its M13 fingerprinting, and a common genotype in South America.Digital Object Identifier http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11046-010-9296-3 收起