Rapid Assays for Specific Detection of Fungi of Scopulariopsis and Microascus Genera and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis Species.

Milena Kordalewska,Tomasz Jagielski,Anna Brillowska-Dąbrowska

doi:10.1007/s11046-016-0008-5

Abstract

PurposeFungi of Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera cause a wide range of infections, with S. brevicaulis being the most prevalent aetiological agent of mould onychomycosis. Proper identification of these pathogens requires sporulating culture, which considerably delays the diagnosis. So far, sequencing of rDNA regions of clinical isolates has produced ambiguous results due to the lack of reference sequences in publicly available databases. Thus, there is a clear need for the development of new molecular methods that would provide simple, rapid and highly specific identification of Scopulariopsis and Microascus species. The objective of this study was to develop simple and fast assays based on PCR and real-time PCR for specific detection of fungi from Scopulariopsis and Microascus genera, and separately, S. brevicaulis species.MethodsOn the basis of alignment of β-tubulin gene sequences, Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific primers were designed and S. brevicaulis-specific primers were reevaluated. DNA from cultured fungal isolates, extracted in a two-step procedure, was used in Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific and S. brevicaulis-specific PCR and real-time PCR followed by electrophoresis or melting temperature analysis, respectively.ResultsThe specificity of the assays was confirmed, as positive results were obtained only for Scopulariopsis spp. and Microascus spp. isolates tested in Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific assay, and only for S. brevicaulis and S. koningii (syn. S. brevicaulis) isolates in a S. brevicaulis-specific assay, respectively, and no positive results were obtained neither for other moulds, dermatophytes, yeast-like fungi, nor for human DNA.ConclusionsThe developed assays enable fast and unambiguous identification of Microascus spp. and Scopulariopsis spp. pathogens.

Highlights

The genus Scopulariopsis, erected by Bainier (1907), contains both hyaline and dematiaceous moulds, which propagate asexually by conidia
The specificity of the assays was confirmed, as positive results were obtained only for Scopulariopsis spp. and Microascus spp. isolates tested in Microascus/Scopulariopsis-specific assay, and only for S. brevicaulis and S. koningii
Less commonly Scopulariopsis and Microascus species have been reported as causes of other infections including endocarditis [15,16,17,18], keratitis [19, 20], endophthalmitis [21], sinusitis [22, 23], pulmonary fungus ball [24, 25], otomycosis [26, 27], pneumonia [28,29,30], peritonitis [31], cerebral phaeohyphomycosis and brain abscess [32,33,34], disseminated infection with skin lesions including a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) [13], disseminated infection after bone marrow transplantation [35, 36], invasive infection after lung [37, 38] or heart and lung transplantation [39]

Summary

Introduction

The genus Scopulariopsis, erected by Bainier (1907), contains both hyaline and dematiaceous moulds, which propagate asexually by conidia. Most of their teleomorphs are included in the genus Microascus [1,2,3,4,5]. Scopulariopsis spp. are saprobes with a worldwide distribution. They are commonly isolated from soil, air, plant debris, paper, dung and moist indoor environments [7, 8]. The prevalence of onychomycosis caused by S. brevicaulis is estimated to make up 3–10 % of the total number of mould onychomycosis cases globally. Less commonly Scopulariopsis and Microascus species have been reported as causes of other infections including endocarditis [15,16,17,18], keratitis [19, 20], endophthalmitis [21], sinusitis [22, 23], pulmonary fungus ball [24, 25], otomycosis [26, 27], pneumonia [28,29,30], peritonitis [31], cerebral phaeohyphomycosis and brain abscess [32,33,34], disseminated infection with skin lesions including a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) [13], disseminated infection after bone marrow transplantation [35, 36], invasive infection after lung [37, 38] or heart and lung transplantation [39]

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