title: Studies in Phylogeny, Development of Rapid IdentificationMethods, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Growth Rates of Clinical Strains of Sporothrix schenckii Complex in Japan.
abstract: Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection caused by the Sporothrix species, which have distinct virulence profiles and geographic distributions. We performed a phylogenetic study in strains morphologically identified as Sporothrix schenckii from clinical specimens in Japan, which were preserved at the Medical Mycology Research Center, Chiba University. In addition, we examined the in vitro antifungal susceptibility and growth rate to evaluate their physiological features. Three hundred strains were examined using sequence analysis of the partial calmodulin gene, or polymerase chain reaction（PCR）method using newly designed species-specific primers; 291 strains were Sporothrix globosa and 9 strains were S. schenckii sensu stricto (in narrow sense, s. s.). S. globosa strains were further clustered into two subclades, and S. schenckii s. s. strains were divided into three subclades. In 38 strains of S. globosa for which antifungal profiles were determined, 4 strains (11%) showed high minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value for itraconazole. All tested strains of S. schenckii s. s. and S. globosa showed low sensitivity for amphotericin B. These antifungals are used for treatment of sporotrichosis when infection is severe. S. schenckii s. s. grew better than S. globosa; wherein S. globosa showed restricted growth at 35℃ and did not grow at 37℃. Our molecular data showed that S. globosa is the main causal agent of sporotrichosis in Japan. It is important to determine the antifungal profiles of each case, in addition to accurate species-level identification, to strategize the therapy for sporotrichosis.
authors: Medical Mycology Research Center, Chiba University.
authors: Rumi
authors: R
authors: Suzuki
authors: Alimu
authors: A
authors: Yikelamu
authors: Reiko
authors: R
authors: Tanaka
authors: Ken
authors: K
authors: Igawa
authors: Hiroo
authors: H
authors: Yokozeki
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Yaguchi
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000235:genetics; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D009172:Mycology / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D013175:Sporothrix / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013174:Sporotrichosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D002147:Calmodulin