title: Identification of medically important Candida and non-Candida yeast species by an oligonucleotide array.
abstract: The incidence of yeast infections has increased in the recent decades, with Candida albicans still being the most common cause of infections. However, infections caused by less common yeasts have been widely reported in recent years. Based on the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) and ITS 2 sequences of the rRNA genes, an oligonucleotide array was developed to identify 77 species of clinically relevant yeasts belonging to 16 genera. The ITS regions were amplified by PCR with a pair of fungus-specific primers, followed by hybridization of the digoxigenin-labeled PCR product to a panel of oligonucleotide probes immobilized on a nylon membrane for species identification. A collection of 452 yeast strains (419 target and 33 nontarget strains) was tested, and a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97% were obtained by the array. The detection limit of the array was 10 pg of yeast genomic DNA per assay. In conclusion, yeast identification by the present method is highly reliable and can be used as an alternative to the conventional identification methods. The whole procedure can be finished within 24 h, starting from isolated colonies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shiang Ning
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Leaw
authors.forename: Hsien Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bouchara
authors.forename: Tsung Chain
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000145:classification; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D006801:Humans; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity; D015003:Yeasts / Q000145:classification*
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021901:DNA, Intergenic