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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1433-1439, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.02219-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Carbon Assimilation Profiles as a Tool for Identification of Zygomycetes{triangledown}

Patrick Schwarz,1 Olivier Lortholary,1,2 Françoise Dromer,1 and Eric Dannaoui1,3*

Centre National de Référence Mycologie et Antifongiques, Unité de Mycologie Moléculaire, CNRS URA3012, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France,1 Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, AP-HP, Hôpital Necker-Enfants-Malades, Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, 75743 Paris Cedex 15, France,2 Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, AP-HP, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Unité de Parasitologie-Mycologie, 75015 Paris, France3

Received 30 October 2006/ Returned for modification 12 December 2006/ Accepted 19 February 2007

Identification of Zygomycetes is difficult and time-consuming by standard microbiological procedures. Carbon assimilation profiles are commonly used for yeast-and bacterial-species identification but rarely for filamentous-fungus identification. Carbon assimilation profiles were evaluated using the commercialized kits ID32C and API 50 CH, which contain 31 and 49 tests, respectively, to serve as simple tools for species identification of Zygomycetes in clinical microbiology laboratories. Fifty-seven strains belonging to 15 species and varieties of Zygomycetes, including Rhizopus, Absidia, Mucor, and Rhizomucor species, were tested for intra- and interspecies variability based on their carbon assimilation profiles. Using ID32C strips, 6 tests were always positive, 7 were never positive, and 18 showed consistently different results between species. With API 50 CH strips, 15 tests were positive for all species, 13 were never positive, and 21 showed different results between species. Nevertheless, assimilation patterns were highly variable among Rhizopus oryzae isolates, and it was not possible to define a specific carbon assimilation profile. With both ID32C and API CH 50 strips, intraspecies variation was found to be low, while large differences were found between genera and species. The clustering of isolates based on their carbon assimilation profiles was in accordance with DNA-based phylogeny of Zygomycetes. In conclusion, carbon assimilation profiles allowed precise and accurate identification of most Zygomycetes to the species level.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre National de Référence Mycologie et Antifongiques, Unité de Mycologie Moléculaire, CNRS URA3012, Institut Pasteur, 25, rue du Dr. Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. Phone: 33 1 40 61 32 50. Fax: 33 1 45 68 84 20. E-mail: dannaoui{at}pasteur.fr

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 28 February 2007.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1433-1439, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.02219-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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