Microsatellite Genotyping of Candida parapsilosis Clinical Isolates

Background and Purpose: Candida parapsilosis is a predominant species found in nosocomial infection, particularly in hospitalized patients. The molecular epidemiology of the clinical strains of this species has not been well studied. The present study was performed with the aim of investigating the microsatellite genotyping of Candida parapsilosis among the Iranian clinical isolates. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on ۸۱ independent clinical C. parapsilosis isolates that were genotyped by using a panel of six microsatellite markers. Results: The short tandem repeat (STR) typing of clinical C. parapsilosis isolates demonstrated ۶۸ separate genotypes, among which ۵۷ genotypes were observed once and the remaining ۱۱ cases were identified for multiple times. The Simpson’s diversity index for the panel of combined six markers yielded a diversity index of ۰.۹۹۵۱. The heterogeneity was observed among the Iranian and the Netherlands clinical C. parapsilosis isolates. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, the clinical C. parapsilosis isolates from Iran showed a high genetic diversity. It can be concluded that molecular epidemiology could be useful for screening during outbreak investigation where C. parapsilosis is involved.

Keywords:

Candida parapsilosis , Genotyping , Iran , Microsatellite