Comparative disc electrophoretic studies of proteins from dermatophytes.

Abstract

Human isolates of Microsporum gypseum, M. canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans, T. rubrum and Epidermophyton floccosum were cultured in Sabouraud's medium and Kuehn's medium. The nondialyzable proteins of the culture filtrates and the mycelial mats were fractionated by disc electrophoresis. Characteristic electrophoretic patterns with 8 to 15 distinct protein fractions were obtained from each preparation. Comparisons among the species were made using the findings of each preparation from each medium. In each of the 4 comparisons a high number of homologous fractions was present in M. gypseum and M. canis and in T. mentagrophytes and T. tonsurans, and a high number of specific fractions was exclusively present in E. floccosum. These data are consistent with conventional taxonomic classification of the dermatophytes. Electrophoretic analysis of the dermatophytes may provide a new group of taxonomic characteristics complementing classical taxonomy.