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Divergence Among an International Population of Trichophyton tonsurans Isolates

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Abstract

Trichophyton tonsurans is a widely distributed pathogen that demonstrates a significant degree of genetic and phenetic heterogeneity. To date, the degree of genetic relatedness among geographically segregated isolates has not been explored. This investigation evaluates the extent of genetic variation among an international population of T. tonsurans isolates and examines the relatedness of isolates within and between countries. Molecular strain typing was performed on 198 isolates obtained from 14 countries. A mixed-marker strategy utilizing 27 sequence variations in 13 gene loci was applied to all isolates and cluster analysis was performed to examine the relationship between strains. Phylogenetic analysis was used to corroborate the findings of the cluster analysis with T. equinum strains serving as an out-group. In total, 47 distinct strain types were identified represented by seven clusters and one singleton. There appeared to be a moderate degree of clustering among isolates obtained from North America, Asia and Australia, although European isolates were uniformly distributed among the majority of clusters. The degree of genetic variation observed in this study coupled with the geographic localization would support the argument for allopatric divergence within this species.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grant AR053234 from the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and by a grant from the Kenneth L. and Eva S. Smith Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Medical Toxicology, Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Road, Suite 0411, Kansas City, MO, 64108, USA

    Susan M. Abdel-Rahman, J. Steven Leeder & Barry Preuett

  2. Meji Pharmaceutical University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takashi Sugita

  3. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterry, Mexico

    Gloria M. González

  4. Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    David Ellis

  5. Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Michalis Arabatzis

  6. Clinpath Medical Laboratories, Msida, Malta

    Loranne Vella-Zahra

  7. Hôpital Tarnier, Paris, France

    Calude Viguié-Vallanet

  8. Juntendo University Nerima Hospital, Nerima-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Masataro Hiruma

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  1. Susan M. Abdel-Rahman
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  2. Takashi Sugita
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Correspondence to Susan M. Abdel-Rahman.

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Abdel-Rahman, S.M., Sugita, T., González, G.M. et al. Divergence Among an International Population of Trichophyton tonsurans Isolates. Mycopathologia 169, 1–13 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-009-9223-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-009-9223-7

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