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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1999, p. 931-936, Vol. 37, No. 4
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Species Identification and Strain Differentiation of Dermatophyte Fungi by Analysis of Ribosomal-DNA Intergenic Spacer Regions

Colin J. Jackson, Richard C. Barton,* and E. Glyn V. Evans

Department of Microbiology and PHLS Mycology Reference Laboratory, University of Leeds and General Infirmary, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

Received 14 October 1998/Returned for modification 11 November 1998/Accepted 13 January 1999

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) identified in the ribosomal-DNA (rDNA) repeat were used for molecular strain differentiation of the dermatophyte fungus Trichophyton rubrum. The polymorphisms were detected by hybridization of EcoRI-digested T. rubrum genomic DNAs with a probe amplified from the small-subunit (18S) rDNA and adjacent internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The rDNA RFLPs mapped to the nontranscribed spacer (NTS) region of the rDNA repeat and appeared similar to those caused by short repetitive sequences in the intergenic spacers of other fungi. Fourteen individual RFLP patterns (DNA types A to N) were recognized among 50 random clinical isolates of T. rubrum. A majority of strains (19 of 50 [38%]) were characterized by one RFLP pattern (DNA type A), and four types (DNA types A to D) accounted for 78% (39 of 50) of all strains. The remaining types (DNA types E to N) were represented by one or two isolates only. A rapid and simple method was also developed for molecular species identification of dermatophyte fungi. The contiguous ITS and 5.8S rDNA regions were amplified from 17 common dermatophyte species by using the universal primers ITS 1 and ITS 4. Digestion of the amplified ITS products with the restriction endonuclease MvaI produced unique and easily identifiable fragment patterns for a majority of species. However, some closely related taxon pairs, such as T. rubrum-T. soudanense and T. quinkeanum-T. schoenlenii could not be distinguished. We conclude that RFLP analysis of the NTS and ITS intergenic regions of the rDNA repeat is a valuable technique both for molecular strain differentiation of T. rubrum and for species identification of common dermatophyte fungi.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: PHLS Mycology Reference Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, The Old Medical School, Thoresby Place, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, England. Phone: 44 113 233 5598. Fax: 44 113 233 5640. E-mail: micrb{at}leeds.ac.uk.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1999, p. 931-936, Vol. 37, No. 4
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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