Identification of moulds in the diagnostic laboratory--an algorithm implementing molecular and phenotypic methods.
Sequence analysis provides a valuable alternative to phenotypic identification of moulds, especially for isolates lacking characteristic morphology. In this comparative prospective study, isolates that could not be identified by standard phenotypic criteria within 5 days (n = 244) were subjected to sequence analysis and further in-depth phenotypic investigations. Comparison of sequence-based with extended phenotypic identification revealed that sequence analysis was more precise in 52.0% of the isolates; in 38.6% of the isolates, both methods gave concordant results. The construction of a database consisting of high-quality sequences allowed improvement of sequence-based identification. Based on these results, we propose a diagnostic algorithm for the effective use of both phenotypic and genetic procedures for identification of moulds in the diagnostic laboratory.
Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Universität Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland. dciardo@immv.unizh.ch
Diana E
DE
Ciardo
Gertrud
G
Schär
Martin
M
Altwegg
Erik C
EC
Böttger
Philipp P
PP
Bosshard
D000465:Algorithms; D003628:Database Management Systems; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D009181:Mycoses / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype