Comparative genotyping and phenotyping of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from humans, dogs and the environment.

1. A. fumigatus from dogs with SNA are phenotypically very diverse in contrast to their environmental and human counterparts. 2. Phenotypic variability can be induced during the chronic infection process in the sinus of the dogs. The basis of this heterogeneity might be due to genomic differences and/or epigenetic variations. 3. Differences in dogs is a could be a result of within-host adaption and might be triggered by environmental factors in the sinus, however this hypothesis still needs to be tested.