Phylogenetic Analysis of Phenotypically Characterized Cryptococcus laurentii Isolates Reveals High Frequency of Cryptic Species

Abstract

Sequencing permitted the characterization of 75% of the environmental C. laurentii isolates from different geographical areas and the identification of seven haplotypes of this species. Among sequenced regions, the increased variability of the ITS region in comparison to the 18S-SSU and 28S-LSU regions reinforces its applicability as a DNA barcode.