The dominance of MATα among cryptococcal strains has been ascribed to MATa strains being more sensitive to certain environmental factors; however no study has attempted to identify these factors. During the present study we determined whether the chemical composition of woody debris may influence the occurrence of Cryptococcus gattii MATa. We observed a positive correlation between the numbers of C. gattii MATa and the ammonium-nitrogen (NH₄–N) concentration in woody debris samples. Subsequent growth studies conducted in woody debris microcosms indicated that this positive correlation is likely not due to additional NH₄Cl improving the growth of selected MATa strains. Instead, it might be due to the MATa strains competing better with the MATα strains in the presence of a high NH₄Cl concentration compared to a low NH₄Cl concentration. This exploratory study paves the way for future studies focused on the interactions of MATa and MATα strains with environmental factors.

的显性MAT α隐球菌菌株中已经被归因于MAT一个菌株是对某些环境因素更敏感; 但是，没有研究试图确定这些因素。在目前的研究中，我们确定了木屑的化学组成是否可能影响加氏隐球菌MAT a的发生。我们观察到木屑样品中的C. gattii MAT a数量与铵态氮（NH ₄ -N）浓度呈正相关。随后在木质碎片微观世界中进行的生长研究表明，这种正相关性可能不是由于额外的NH ₄Cl改善了所选MAT a菌株的生长。相反，它可能是由于MAT一个菌株竞争与更好MAT在高NH的存在下α菌株₄氯浓度相比低NH ₄氯浓度。这项探索性研究为今后针对MAT a和MATα菌株与环境因素相互作用的研究铺平了道路。