Molecular characterization of selected dermatophytes and their identification by electrophoretic mutation scanning

Abstract

Dermatophytes are fungi that can be contagious and cause infections in the keratinized skin of mammals, including humans. The etiological diagnosis of dermatophytosis relies on a combination of in vitro-culture and microscopic methods. Effective molecular tools could overcome the limitations of conventional methods of identification. In the present study, following phenetic identification as M. canis, M. fulvum, M. gypseum, T. mentagrophytes and T. terrestre, we genetically characterized key dermatophytes, employing the sequences of the first and second internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA as well as part of the chitin synthase-1 gene, and assessed the utility of these DNA r..