Glossary
Antioxidant	A molecule or compound that prevents or neutralizes oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species.
Autochthonous	Indigenous or native in origin; not imported.
Bacilliform	Shaped like a Bacillus bacterium, rod-shaped.
Clamp connection	A tube-like connection between two segments of a hypha to ensure that differing nuclei are equally distributed during the cell division.
Clonal	Derived from mother cell by asexual reproduction.
Cryptococcosis	Lung and brain infections caused by fungi Cryptococcus gattii or Cryptococcus neoformans.
Ecological niche	The specialized space in the environment where an organism lives and interacts with living and non-living objects in its surroundings.
Endemic	Native to or originating from a geographical area.
Genotype	The genetic makeup revealed by a biological assay.
Hybrids	Offspring resulting from crossing of dissimilar parent cells
Immunocompetent	Possessing a functioning immune system that mounts effective host defense to infection.
Immunocompromised	Unable to mount effective host defense to infection due to underlying immunodeficiency or immunosuppressive treatment.
Mating type	Genetic characteristics that distinguish two sexually compatible cells that appear similar in morphology.
Meningoencephalitis	Inflammation of the brain and surrounding membrane.
Neutrophils	Abundant white blood cells that play important role in immune defense via their ability to engulf and destroy pathogenic microbes.
Opportunist pathogen	A fungus that is only able to cause disease in an immunocompromised host.
Outbreak	A sudden increase in the incidence of an infection not expected in an area or at a particular period of time.
Pathogenicity	The ability of a fungus to produce disease in a given host.
Primary pathogen	A pathogen that is able to cause disease in apparently healthy host.
Phagocytosis	The process of engulfment of a pathogenic microbe by immune response cells or phagocytes.
Recombination	An assortment of genes or characteristics in offspring that distinguish the offspring from their parents.
Serotype	Characteristic surface antigens that permit closely related microbes to be distinguished by means of antibodies.
Virulence	The degree of pathogenicity of a fungus in a given host.