Comparison of three typing methods for clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus

To evaluate procedures used for epidemiologic analysis of outbreaks of aspergillosis, we analyzed a collection of 35 Aspergillus fumigatus isolates using three typing methods: isoenzyme analysis (IEA), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, and restriction endonuclease analysis (REA). Twenty-one isolates were from a single hospital, with four isolates coming from different patients. Three clinical isolates came from a different hospital, and 11 clinical or environmental isolates were derived from a culture collection. With IEA, the patterns of alkaline phosphatase, esterase, and catalase discriminated nine types. In contrast, 22 types were obtained with five different RAPD primers, and 21 types could be detected with three of these (R108, R151, and UBC90). Restriction endonuclease analysis of genomic DNA, digested with either XbaI, XhoI, or SalI, detected 3, 17, and 13 different REA types, respectively, and 22 types were identified by combining the data from the XhoI and SalI REAs. Twenty-eight types were obtainable with a combination of REA, IEA, and RAPD patterns. Overall, the results pointed to substantial genetic variation among the isolates. Though two isolates had markedly distinct genotypes, their morphologic features and exoantigens were consistent with their being A. fumigatus. The analysis will help in planning epidemiologic studies of aspergillosis.