Molecular epidemiology, virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility of Candida inconspicua strains isolated from clinical samples in Turkey

KÜÇÜKOĞLU O., MUTLU SARIGÜZEL F., KOÇ A. N., PARKAN Ö. M.

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, cilt.106, sa.1, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 106 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2023.115915
  • Dergi Adı: Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Environment Index, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Antifungal susceptibility, Candida norvegensis, Candida inconspicua, Phylogenetic analysis, Molecular epidemiology, Virulence factors
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the molecular epidemiology, virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility of clinical Candida inconspicua isolates. All isolates were identified by phenotypic methods and sequence analysis of ITS 1-2, D1/D2, EF-1 alpha. Proteinase, phospholipase, and esterase activities, biofilm formation, and antifungal susceptibilities were determined. All thirty isolates identified as Candida norvegensis by phenotypic methods were reidentified as C. inconspicua by sequence analysis, demonstrating the inadequacy of phenotypic methods to differentiate these 2 species. The gene regions examined in terms of determining evolutionary relatedness did not show intraspecies nucleotide variations. Therefore, different molecular approaches are needed to evaluate molecular epidemiology. Esterase, phospholipase, and biofilm formation were found to be positive in 100%, 100%, and 36.6% of the strains, respectively. The MIC50/MIC90 values for fluconazole and flucytosine were found to be higher than the other tested antifungals, which should be taken into account in the treatment.