Molecular diagnostics in medical mycology

Nat Commun. 2018 Dec 3;9(1):5135. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07556-5.

Abstract

Diagnosing fungal infections poses a number of unique problems, including a decline in expertise needed for identifying fungi, and a reduced number of instruments and assays specific for fungal identification compared to that of bacteria and viruses.These problems are exacerbated by the fact that patients with fungal infections are often immunosuppressed, which predisposes to infections from both commonly and rarely seen fungi. In this review, we discuss current and future molecular technologies used for fungal identification, and some of the problems associated with development and implementation of these technologies in today's clinical microbiology laboratories.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • DNA, Fungal / chemistry
  • DNA, Fungal / genetics*
  • Fungi / classification
  • Fungi / genetics*
  • Fungi / physiology
  • Humans
  • Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / methods*
  • Mycoses / diagnosis*
  • Mycoses / microbiology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods

Substances

  • DNA, Fungal