Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Bari, Str. prov. le per Casamassima Km 3, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
Infect Genet Evol. 2013 Dec;20:336-51. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2013.09.005. Epub 2013 Sep 20.
Dermatophytes are fungi that invade and propagate in the keratinized skin of mammals, including humans, often causing contagious infections. The species of medical concern belong to the genera Microsporum, Trichophyton, Epidermophyton (in their anamorphic state) and Arthroderma (in their telomorphic state), which were traditionally identified based on their morphology and biochemical characters. Nonetheless, limitations linked to the differentiation of closely related agents at species and strains level have been recently overcome by molecular studies. Indeed, an accurate identification of dermatophytes is pivotal for the establishment of effective control and prevention programs as well as for determining the most appropriate and effective antifungal therapies to be applied. This article reviews the DNA techniques and the molecular markers used to identify and to characterize dermatophyte species, as well as aspects of their phylogeny and evolution. The applications of typing molecular strain to both basic and applied research (e.g., taxonomy, ecology, typing of infection, antifungal susceptibility) have also been discussed.
皮肤癣菌是一类侵袭并在哺乳动物（包括人类）角蛋白化皮肤中繁殖的真菌，常引起传染性感染。具有医学意义的菌种属于小孢子菌属、毛癣菌属、表皮癣菌属（其无性型）和须癣毛癣菌属（其有性型），传统上基于其形态和生化特征进行鉴定。然而，最近分子研究已经克服了在种和菌株水平上区分密切相关的因子的局限性。事实上，准确鉴定皮肤癣菌对于制定有效的控制和预防计划以及确定要应用的最合适和最有效的抗真菌治疗至关重要。本文综述了用于鉴定和描述皮肤癣菌种的 DNA 技术和分子标记，以及它们的系统发育和进化方面。还讨论了分子菌株分型在基础和应用研究（例如分类学、生态学、感染分型、抗真菌药敏性）中的应用。
