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Molecular Characterization of Highly Susceptible Candida africana from Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

Mycopathologia volume 180, pages 317–323 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Phylogenetic studies highlight Candida africana as an atypical variant within Candida albicans species complex which is dominantly recovered from vaginal specimens. This study aimed to characterize C. africana isolates from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) by molecular methods and in vitro susceptibilities. One hundred and fifty-six (48.44 %) Candida strains were collected from 322 patients diagnosed with VVC. Of these, 114 (73.07 %) were germ tube positive and presented green color on the chromogenic medium, thus classified as C. albicans species complex. One hundred and nine (95.61 %) out of 114 isolates were identified as C. albicans, while five (4.38 %) isolates were identical with C. africana based on hwp1 PCR. C. africana appeared to be highly susceptible to the tested antifungals. For all strains of C. africana, fluconazole MIC was 2-log2-dilution steps less active than amphotericin B, which in turn was 2-log2-dilution steps and 3-log2-dilution steps less active than other azoles and echinocandin agents, respectively. In conclusion, among the C. albicans species complex, C. albicans predominantly and C. africana rarely occur in vaginal mucosa. Due to limited information on molecular epidemiology of this novel yeast, more studies using molecular methods are needed to elucidate the inter- and intraspecific genomic variations of C. africana isolates.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by a grant from the School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, which we gratefully acknowledge. The authors acknowledge the staff of Baghban Clinic for helping with technical assistance of sampling. We are grateful to Ilse Curfs-Breuker for excellent technical assistance and help with antifungal susceptibility testings. Authors would like to thank Dr. Somayeh Dolatabadi for critically reviewing and editing the manuscript.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed Amir Yazdanparast

  2. Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Sadegh Khodavaisy

  3. Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Hamed Fakhim

  4. Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology/Invasive Fungi Research Centre (IFRC), School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Tahereh Shokohi, Iman Haghani, Mojtaba Nabili, Haniyeh Gholami & Hamid Badali

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Imam Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Imaneh Ahmadi

  6. Molecular Cell Biology Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Hamid Badali

  7. Iranian Social Security Organization, Mazandaran, Iran

    Mojtaba Nabili

Authors
  1. Seyed Amir Yazdanparast
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  2. Sadegh Khodavaisy
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  3. Hamed Fakhim
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  4. Tahereh Shokohi
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  5. Iman Haghani
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  6. Mojtaba Nabili
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  7. Haniyeh Gholami
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  8. Imaneh Ahmadi
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  9. Hamid Badali
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Correspondence to Hamid Badali.

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Yazdanparast, S.A., Khodavaisy, S., Fakhim, H. et al. Molecular Characterization of Highly Susceptible Candida africana from Vulvovaginal Candidiasis. Mycopathologia 180, 317–323 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9924-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9924-z

Keywords

  • VVC
  • C. africana
  • hwp1
  • In vitro susceptibility
  • Iran