Isolation and characterization of a species-specific DNA fragment for detection of Candida albicans by polymerase chain reaction.

A 2-kbp DNA fragment, EO3, that was present in multiple copies in the Candida albicans genome was isolated for use in developing a detection method for C. albicans by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dot blot hybridization revealed that EO3 was specific for the 40 isolates of C. albicans serotypes A and B used. Using a set of primers (20-mer each) derived from the nucleotide sequence of EO3, we performed specific amplification of a 1.8-kbp DNA fragment within EO3 by PCR. All 40 isolates belonging to C. albicans serotypes A and B contained amplifiable 1.8-bkp fragments, although the DNA of the amplified products exhibited small variations in size, yielding three different fragment groups. Southern blot hybridization probed with EO3 showed that these 1.8-kbp fragments were derived from the EO3 region. Conversely, the 1.8-kbp fragment was not amplified from 38 isolates belonging to seven other medically important Candida species or from isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, various bacteria, and a human cell line. The detection limit of the PCR assay for C. albicans with the EO3 fragment was shown to be approximately 2 to 10 cells and 100 cells in saline and human urine, respectively, by ethidium bromide staining and 2 and 10 cells, respectively, by Southern blot analysis. In addition, EO3 was assumed to originate from mitochondrial DNA on the basis of the results of its characterizations. These results indicate that the PCR system using the 1.8-kbp fragment as a target is a reliable method for identifying C. albicans isolates, thereby suggesting its potentials for specific and sensitive detection of C. albicans in samples from patients with candidiasis.