Mucormycosis, a fatal opportunistic infection in immunocompromised hosts, is caused by fungi belonging to the order Mucorales. Early diagnosis based on exact identification and multidisciplinary treatments is critical. However, identification of Mucorales fungi is difficult and often delayed, resulting in poor prognosis. This study aimed to compare the results of phenotypic and molecular identification of 12 Mucorales isolates collected from 4-yr-accumulated data. All isolates were identified on the basis of phenotypic characteristics such as growth rate, colony morphology, and reproductive structures. PCR and direct sequencing were performed to target internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and/or D1/D2 regions. Target DNA sequencing identified five Lichtheimia isolates, two Rhizopus microsporus isolates, two Rhizomucor pusillus isolates, one Cunninghamella bertholletiae isolate, one Mucor fragilis isolate, and one Syncephalastrum racemosum isolate. Five of the 12 (41.7%) isolates were incorrectly identified on the basis of phenotypic identification. DNA sequencing showed that of these five isolates, two were Lichtheimia isolates, one was Mucor isolate, one was Rhizomucor isolate, and one was Rhizopus microspores. All the isolates were identified at the species level by ITS and/or D1/D2 analyses. Phenotypic differentiation and identification of Mucorales is difficult because different Mucorales share similar morphology. Our results indicate that the molecular methods employed in this study are valuable for identifying Mucorales.
Genotype ; Humans ; Mucorales/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Mucormycosis/*microbiology ; Mycological Typing Techniques ; Phenotype

Epitypification can solve many taxonomic problems and stabilize the understanding of species, genera, families or orders. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how to epitypify. A few examples where taxa have been epitypified are considered and the benefits and disadvantages of epitypification are discussed. We also outline some examples of taxa which need to be epitypified with reasons.
Colletotrichum ; classification ; genetics ; DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Fungi ; classification ; genetics ; Mycological Typing Techniques ; methods ; Phylogeny

A yeast-like strain was isolated from the brain abscess of a patient diagnosed with astrocytoma. Morphological and molecular analysis on D1/D2 domain in the 26S rRNA gene and internal transcript spacer region of the strain revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Pseudozyma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of a Pseudozyma strain from brain abscess.
Aged ; Astrocytoma/*complications ; Brain Abscess/complications/diagnosis/*microbiology ; Brain Diseases/*complications ; DNA, Fungal/genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Mycological Typing Techniques ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal/genetics ; Ustilaginales/classification/genetics/*isolation &purification

OBJECTIVETo isolate and identify the anamorph of Shiraia bambusicola.

METHODFungus strains were isolated from mature ascospores and stroma. They were identified by means of morphological identification including colony and microscope characteristic, the molecular identification was done by 5.8S-ITS rDNA.

RESULTThe strains GZDXIFR-171 and GZDXIFR-181 were isolated and obtained with the separation of different methods, which had the same colony morphology. With the universal primers of the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2, the 5.8S-ITS rDNA sequence of GZDXIFR-171 and GZDXIFR-181 were obtained by the PCR amplification and sequencing. Compared with the published nucleotide sequence of 5.8S-ITS rDNA in NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), GZDXIFR-171 and GZDXIFR-181 were highly identical with S. bambusicola.

CONCLUSIONThe isolated strains GZDXIFR-171 and GZDXIFR-181 were confirmed to be the true anamorph of S. bambusicola.

Ascomycota ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mycological Typing Techniques ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S ; genetics

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Fungi ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Infant ; Mycological Typing Techniques ; Mycoses ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serologic Tests ; Specimen Handling