Molecular epidemiology of environmental Cryptococcus species isolates based on amplified fragment length polymorphism

K Pakshir; H Fakhim; A Vaezi; J F Meis; M Mahmoodi; K Zomorodian; J Javidnia; S Ansari; F Hagen; H Badali

doi:10.1016/j.mycmed.2018.09.005

Molecular epidemiology of environmental Cryptococcus species isolates based on amplified fragment length polymorphism

J Mycol Med. 2018 Dec;28(4):599-605. doi: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2018.09.005. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

Authors

K Pakshir¹, H Fakhim², A Vaezi³, J F Meis⁴, M Mahmoodi¹, K Zomorodian¹, J Javidnia⁵, S Ansari⁶, F Hagen⁷, H Badali⁸

Affiliations

¹ Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
² Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran; Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
³ Department of Medical Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital (CWZ), Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Centre of Expertise in Mycology Radboudumc/CWZ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Medical Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
⁶ Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁷ Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital (CWZ), Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Mycology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Medical Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Invasive Fungi Research Center, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Electronic address: badalii@yahoo.com.

PMID: 30322827
DOI: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2018.09.005

Abstract

Objective: Cryptococcosis is a major opportunistic fungal infection caused by members of the genus Cryptococcus, mainly those belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complexes. Here, we report a comprehensive molecular epidemiological study of the environmental distribution of Cryptococcus isolates in Shiraz, Iran with review of litreature.

Method: A total of 406 samples were obtained from Eucalyptus trees and 139 samples from pigeon droppings. Cryptococcus species identification and genotyping were performed by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting sequencing and sequencing of the ITS rDNA region.

Results: Majority of the isolates belonged to the Naganishia taxon (n=69) including N. albida (formerly C. albidus, n=62), N. globosa (formerly C. saitoi, n=4), N. adeliensis (formerly C. adeliensis, n=2), N. diffluens (formerly C. diffluens, n=1), and the identified C. neoformans isolates (n=25) belonged to genotype AFLP1/VNI (n=22) and AFLP1B/VNII (n=3).

Conclusion: More research efforts should be employed to isolate C. gattii species complex from environmental niches in Iran and provide additional evidence related to novel molecular types.

Keywords: Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting; Cryptococcus species; Environmental sampling; Iran.

MeSH terms

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis
Animals
Columbidae / microbiology
Cryptococcus / classification*
Cryptococcus / genetics*
Cryptococcus / isolation & purification
DNA, Fungal / genetics
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
Environmental Microbiology*
Eucalyptus / microbiology
Genome, Fungal / genetics
Genotype
Iran / epidemiology
Molecular Epidemiology*
Molecular Typing
Mycological Typing Techniques
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

DNA, Fungal
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer