R.S. Santos

The fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a human pathogen with a wide distribution in Latin America. The fungus causes paracoccidioidomycosis when mycelia reach the lungs. The success of the infection depends on the acquisition of essential micronutrients such as copper, which is required as a cofactor for a variety of enzymes important in several biological processes, such as respiration, growth and iron uptake. Previous studies of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology showed that a high-affinity copper transporter (PbCTR3) is a molecule that is highly expressed and probably necessary for the establishment of infection by P. Brasiliensis. Read more. . .