Evolutionary Relationships, Phylogeographic Patterns, and a Hypothesis for Air- and Sea-driven Global Spread of Chromoblastomycosis by Etiological Fonsecaea Agents

Abstract Fonsecaea spp. is the most common pathogen underlying chromoblastomycosis. However, many aspects of its evolutionary history are not fully understood, and a timescale for its diversification is lacking . Here, we propose, explain, and validate the evolutionary relationships, transmission routes, and modes of transmission among pathogenic species of the genus Fonsecaea . we investigated the sequences of a total of 510 intra-ribosomal transcribed regions and 485 reported cases of eight strains of the genus Fonsecaea , that have spread epidemically worldwide, persisted, and diversified over 38.27 million years. This period coincides with the diversification of many filamentous fungi, and this evolution explains the diversity and origin of pathogenic species of Fonsecaea spp . , as well as the possible transmission routes. Fonsecaea pedrosoi originated in the Atlantic Ocean near Brazil, F. monophora originated in the Pacific Ocean near southern China, and F. nubica originated in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. F. pugnacius originated and is endemic in the Atlantic Ocean near Brazil. We proposed the hypothesis that non-pathogenic environmental strains in the environment ( Fonsecaea brasiliensis , F. multimorphosa , F. minima , and F. erecta ) evolved into pathogenic strains ( F. pedrosoi , F. pugnacius , F. nubica , and F. monophora ) and spread globally with global tropical cyclone and ocean currents pathways. F. multimorphosa is potentially infectious to humans. The present study’s results will greatly facilitate the prevention, treatment, and cure of Fonsecaea infections and give insight and reference to researchers in the field of fungal research, especially other pathogenic fungi and environmental fungi.