UC Berkeley

Coccidioides spp. are dimorphic fungal pathogens that cause the mammalian disease coccidioidomycosis, also known as San Joaquin Valley Fever - a potentially fatal infection that can occur in healthy human adults. C. immitis and C. posadasii are members of the Ascomycota, order Onygenales - a diverse group of fungi that includes both mammalian pathogens and non-pathogens. In the first chapter, full transcriptomes were sequenced for the hyphal and spherule growth phases for both C. immitis and C. posadasii. In the second chapter, the closest known relatives of Coccidioides spp. were sequenced for comparative phlyogenomics. In the third chapter, the origin of lineage- specific genes was assessed in Coccidioides. The work described here takes advantage of Illumina next generation sequencing technology to assess gene expression and genomic changes in Coccidioides that allow these species to form the complex spherule growth morphology. The techniques and experimental approach used are broadly applicable across all organisms; Coccidioides makes a particularly interesting case study, given the evolutionary conundrums in the Onygenales.