Abstract
Background
Trichophyton rubrum is the most common pathogen causing dermatophytosis worldwide. Recent genetic investigations
showed that the microorganism originated in Africa and then spread to Europe and North
America via Asia.
Objects
We investigated the intraspecific diversity of T. rubrum isolated from two closely located Asian countries, Japan and China.
Methods
A total of 150 clinical isolates of T. rubrum obtained from Japanese and Chinese patients were analyzed by randomly amplified polymorphic
DNA (RAPD) and DNA sequence analysis of the non-transcribed spacer (NTS) region in
the rRNA gene.
Results
RAPD analysis divided the 150 strains into two major clusters, A and B. Of the Japanese
isolates, 30% belonged to cluster A and 70% belonged to cluster B, whereas 91% of
the Chinese isolates were in cluster A. The NTS region of the rRNA gene was divided
into four major groups (I–IV) based on DNA sequencing. The majority of Japanese isolates
were type IV (51%), and the majority of Chinese isolates were type III (75%).
Conclusions
These results suggest that although Japan and China are neighboring countries, the
origins of T. rubrum isolates from these countries may not be identical. These findings provide information
useful for tracing the global transmission routes of T. rubrum.
Abbreviations:
bp (pase pairs), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA), NTS (non-transcribed spacer)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 12, 2010
Accepted:
December 7,
2008
Received in revised form:
November 7,
2008
Received:
June 3,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
