Development of an oligonucleotide probe specific for Trichophyton rubrum.
A species-specific DNA probe was developed to detect the dermatophyte species Trichophyton rubrum. The selected oligonucleotide sequence is derived from the highly variable internal transcribed spacer 2 region of the ribosomal DNA operon. The specificity of the non-radioactive labelled oligonucleotide probe was tested against related dermatophytes, other eukaryotic microorganisms and against human DNA. No cross-hybridization was found, and hybridization signals were invariably detected in all T. rubrum strains investigated. In addition, no homologous sequences were found searching the EMBL database. Experiments to establish a method for isolating DNA directly from clinical specimens gave successful amplification and hybridization products in about 30% of the samples.
El Fari
M
M
Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Charité-Virchow, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany. elfari@charite.de
Tietz
H J
HJ
Presber
W
W
Sterry
W
W
Gräser
Y
Y
D001483:Base Sequence; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000235:genetics; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014005:Tinea / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000235:genetics
D015342:DNA Probes; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes