PRP8 intein in dermatophytes: Evolution and species identification
Hans Garcia Garces1, Raquel Theodoro Cordeiro2, E Bagagli1
1Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual de São Paulo. São Paulo. Brasil.
Medical Mycology
|December 12, 2017
Summary
New research explores PRP8 inteins as a powerful tool for identifying and classifying dermatophytes, a group of fungi causing skin infections. This method offers a simpler, single-step identification process for these medically important organisms.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Molecular Biology
- Fungal Systematics
Background:
- Dermatophytes, keratinophilic fungi in the Arthrodermataceae family, present complex and controversial systematics.
- Current species identification relies on ribosomal DNA sequencing and multilocus analyses, but simpler methods are sought.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the potential of PRP8 inteins as novel molecular markers for dermatophyte phylogenetic analysis and species identification.
- To investigate the utility of PRP8 intein's Homing Endonuclease (HE) region for rapid species differentiation.
Main Methods:
- Sequencing of the PRP8 intein across various dermatophyte species.
- Phylogenetic analyses using PRP8 intein sequences.
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis targeting the HE region for length polymorphism analysis.
Main Results:
- All studied dermatophyte species possess a full-length PRP8 intein with a LAGLIDADG Homing Endonuclease.
- Phylogenetic analyses corroborated existing classifications and refined species groupings within Trichophyton.
- Length variation in the HE region allowed for the differentiation of key Microsporum species via simple PCR.
Conclusions:
- PRP8 inteins are a valuable and powerful additional tool for the identification and systematization of dermatophytes.
- The HE region of PRP8 inteins offers a rapid, single-step PCR-based method for identifying important Microsporum species.
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