Korean J Dermatol.  2001 Feb;39(2):168-175.

Identification of Dermatophytes by Mycological Tests and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA analysis

• Kim JA
• Moon SE
• Kwon TE
• Yu HJ
• Cho BK
• Lee KH
• Ahn KJ
• Yoon JH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are usually identified based on their characteristic morphologies and physiological tests. However, identification is often delayed and problematic for atypical isolates. Recently, random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) analysis was successfully performed for the identification of dermatophyes.
OBJECTIVE
This study was performed to identify clinical isolates which could not be identified previously. The causes of unidentification were analysed and the merits and demerits of RAPD analysis were evaluated.
METHODS
Thirty-six clinical isolates and 14 standard strains were included in this study. Seven mycological studies were performed and RAPD analysis was done by using primer OPAO-15 (5'-GAAGGCTCCC-3').
RESULTS
Based on the results of 7 mycological tests, 28 strains were confirmed as follows: 24, T. rubrum; 2, T. mentagrophytes; 2, T. raubitschekii. Four were considered as atypical strains of T. rubrum, and another 4 as non-dermatophytic moulds. This results were confirmed by RAPD analysis.
CONCLUSION
RAPD analysis was useful for the identification of dermatophytes, especially the atypical strains. However, non-dermatophytic mould could not be identified by RAPD analysis. RAPD analysis was considered as a supplementary method to the conventional mycological studies for the identification of dermatophytes.

Keyword

Dermatophyte; RAPD analysis; Identification; Mycology

MeSH Terms

Arthrodermataceae*
DNA*
Mycology
DNA