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Comparative study on genotyping of Candida albicans by repetitive sequence-based PCR and multilocus sequence typing

WEI Bing1,2, LIU Jin-yan2, SHI Ce1, XIANG Ming-jie1,2   

  1. 1.Clinical Laboratory; 2.Radioimmunology and Clinical Laboratory Luwan Branch, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Online:2013-11-28 Published:2013-12-03
  • Supported by:

    Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau Foundation, China, 2009239; Bio-medical Program of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, China, 11411960500; Key Medical Disciplines Construction Program of Shanghai, China, 2012-A-21

Abstract:

Objective To compare repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) in genotyping of Candida albicans, and assess the two methods. Methods Forty Candida albicans strains were isolated from Candida vaginitis patients from local hospitals of shanghai. With the most suitable primers used to amplify, the amplicons were analyzed through electrophoresis to generate different REP-PCR types. Seven loci in housekeeping genes were amplified and sequenced. The sequences were compared with MLST database to obtain sequence type (ST). Results For REP-PCR, Ca22-Ca22 has the best genotyping effect. Seven REP-PCR types were found in 40 Candida albicans isolates. Twenty-nine MLST types were found and they were all new types. Conclusion MLST has much better discriminatory power than REP-PCR, but REP-PCR offers a simple and rapid method for molecular typing. Therefore, REP-PCR can be the first choice for a large number of isolates in laboratory and clinical practice. MLST is more objective and more suitable for the research of evolutionary and global epidemiology investigation.

Key words: Candida albicans, multilocus sequence typing, repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction, genotyping