title: Determination of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans mating type by multiplex PCR.
abstract: Mating type plays an important role in the epidemiology and virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans. The present study designed a multiplex PCR method to distinguish the six mating type patterns (Aa, Da, Aalpha, Dalpha, Aa/Dalpha, and Aalpha/Da) of C. neoformans var. neoformans. PCR amplification identified one fragment for Aa (860 bp), Dalpha (413 bp) and Da (645 bp) strains, two fragments for Aalpha (320 and 400 bp) and Aa/Dalpha (860 and 413 bp) strains, and three fragments (645, 400, 320 bp) for an Aalpha/Da strain. The method appears to be a valid, simple and relatively inexpensive tool for epidemiological and virulence studies.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Igiene e Medicina Preventina, Università degli Studi di Milano, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Esposto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cogliati
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tortorano
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Viviani
mesh_terms: D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D049770:Genes, Mating Type, Fungal; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014774:Virulence