title: Rapid identification of Sporothrix schenckii in biopsy tissue by PCR.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii is the etiological agent of sporotrichosis, an important cutaneous mycosis with a worldwide distribution. At present, it is challenging to rapidly discover and identify Sporothrix schenckii in biopsy tissues nowadays.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore new methods for rapid diagnosis of sporotrichosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We screened specific primers for Sporothrix schenckii using 50 clinical isolates from patients with sporotrichosis. DNA was extracted from the lesions of 30 cases of clinically suspected sporotrichosis using the Graham s method of CTAB and amplified by PCR using the screened specific primers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The primer S2-R2 was applicable for the identification of S. schenckii from different geographic areas and clinical types with high specificity and sensitivity. Twenty-five out of the thirty cases (83.3%) amplified using the primer S2-R2 showed positive bands. Further positive bands were observed in 95.6% of cases tested positive by fungal culture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using the PCR technique and specific primers, we developed a new diagnostic method that can rapidly diagnose sporotrichosis with tissues obtained from clinical biopsies.
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, ChinaHospital of Jilin University, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001483:Base Sequence; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013175:Sporothrix / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers