Multilocus Sequence Typing of Pathogenic Candida albicans Isolates Collected from a Teaching Hospital in Shanghai, China: A Molecular Epidemiology Study.
Molecular typing of Candida albicans is important for studying the population structure and epidemiology of this opportunistic yeast, such as population dynamics, nosocomial infections, multiple infections and microevolution. The genetic diversity of C. albicans has been rarely studied in China. In the present study, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize the genetic diversity and population structure of 62 C. albicans isolates collected from 40 patients from Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China. A total of 50 diploid sequence types (DSTs) were identified in the 62 C. albicans isolates, with 41 newly identified DSTs. Based on cluster analysis, the 62 isolates were classified into nine existing clades and two new clades (namely clades New 1 and New 2). The majority of the isolates were clustered into three clades, clade 6 (37.5%), clade 1 (15.0%) and clade 17 (15.0%). Isolates of clade New 2 were specifically identified in East Asia. We identified three cases of potential nosocomial transmission based on association analysis between patients' clinical data and the genotypes of corresponding isolates. Finally, by analyzing the genotypes of serial isolates we further demonstrated that the microevolution of C. albicans was due to loss of heterozygosity. Our study represents the first molecular typing of C. albicans in eastern China, and we confirmed that MLST is a useful tool for studying the epidemiology and evolution of C. albicans.
The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Kefei
K
Wu
Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Tao
T
Luo
The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People's Republic of China.
Li
L
Li
The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People's Republic of China.
Qiangqiang
Q
Zhang
The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People's Republic of China.
Junhao
J
Zhu
Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Qian
Q
Gao
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, People's Republic of China.
Min
M
Chen
The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People's Republic of China.
Min
M
Zhu
D002176:Candida albicans / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D004171:Diploidy; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing / Q000379:methods*; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D005819:Genetic Markers