Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic relatedness of the most prevalent Candida bloodstream infection (BSI) species in in a Malaysian population via Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR) fingerprinting. Methodology and results: The genomic DNA of 43 Candida BSI blood culture samples obtained from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) was isolated, after which species identification was carried out using PCR with ITS-1 and ITS-4 pan-fungal primers in conjunction with CHROMagar™ Candida. The predominant Candida species in the BSI samples is Candida albicans (14 out of 43 isolates). RAPD-PCR on these 14 C. albicans clinical isolates was performed using PST as the arbitrary primer. Data analysis using MEGA found an overall non-relatedness of these 14 clinical isolates [average similarity coefficient (SAB) value 0.733±0.172]. Following in-depth analysis, five of the 14 isolates were observed to be identical (SAB values of 1.00 each), four isolates had SAB values of 0.80-0.99, indicating that they are highly similar, but are non-identical, while five isolates are unrelated (SAB lower than 0.80). This suggests that microevolution might have occurred and that these clinical isolates may possibly belong to different strains. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: A fair degree of genetic heterogeneity was found among the 14 C. albicans isolates from UMMC. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the genetic profiles of C. albicans bloodstream infection isolates from Malaysia, warranting further studies in the possible evolutionary trends within this Candida species in Malaysia. Keywords: Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA PCR (RAPD-PCR), Candida albicans, Candida bloodstream infections, Genetic relatedness, DNA fingerprinting
Candida albicans

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida*

BACKGROUND: Although the broth microdilution method has been recently established for antifungal susceptibility testing of the Candida species, there is still an argue in the interpretation of the trailing endpoint. We evaluated the spectrophotometric broth microdilution method (SBM) to determine the fluconazole MICs from five different Candida species. METHODS: A total of 252 clinical isolates of five Candida species (144 C. albicans, 42 C. tropicalis, 32 C. glabrata, 28 C. parapsilosis, and 6 C. krusei) were tested for fluconazole susceptibility with the broth microdilution method. The MICs were spectrophotometrically determined at 80% (Spec-80%) and 50% (Spec-50%) decrease in absorbance as compared with growth control, respectively. The results were compared with the fluconazole MICs tested by the National Committee for the Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) macrodilution method. RESULTS: When MICs were obtained by Spec-80%, the agreements of SBM and the NCCLS macro dilution method within two doubling dilutions were 92.4% (220/238) at 24 h and 78.6% (198/252) at 48 h for all Candida species. Using the Spec-50%, those were increased to 97.9% (233/238) at 24 h and 98.8% (249/252) at 48 h (P<0.01). Especially, for C. albicans and C. tropicalis, the agreement of the Spec-50% was significantly higher than those of the Spec-80% at 48 h; 97.9% vs. 75.0%, for C. albicans (P<0.01), and 100% vs. 57.1%, for C. tropicalis (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the SBM using Spec-50% can provide a more precise and objective mean for fluconazole susceptibility testing, especially for C. albicans and C. tropicalis.
Candida albicans ; Candida* ; Fluconazole*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; DNA*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Korea*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Dentures* ; Detergents*

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Humans* ; Monocytes*

No abstract available.
Antifungal Agents* ; Candida albicans* ; Candida*