Xu Xue, Sun Yanxia, Hu Danyang, Tsui Clement Kin-Ming, Zhang Lu, Deng Shuwen
Department of Medical Microbiology, The People's Hospital of Suzhou New District, Suzhou, China.
Life Science College, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Virulence. 2025 Dec;16(1):2543058. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2025.2543058. Epub 2025 Aug 6.
(former name: ) is the second most common cause of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), but its molecular epidemiology and antifungal resistance in China remain poorly understood. This study analysed 204 isolates from VVC patients in Suzhou, Eastern China, using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and microsatellite genotyping, alongside antifungal susceptibility testing. A total of 46 sequence types (STs) were identified by MLST, as well as 146 genotypes (GTs) revealed by microsatellite. According to MLST, ST7 was the predominant ST in vaginal isolates, along with a considerably high proportion (32/46, 69.6%) of novel STs. Notably, 27 STs were unique singletons, of which 25 unique STs were newly defined in this investigation. Microsatellite genotyping revealed a similar pattern as MLST with high variability. Population genetic analysis revealed evidence of recombination and ST7 could be the founding population of other related STs. However, there was no significant association between the genotypes and resistance phenotypes. Molecular epidemiology of associated with VVC revealed high genetic variability and the presence of novel genotypes in China. This study highlights the unique genetic profile of vaginal isolates in Suzhou, with the majority of resistant strains belonging to ST7.
（曾用名： ）是外阴阴道念珠菌病（VVC）的第二大常见病因，但在中国其分子流行病学和抗真菌耐药性仍知之甚少。本研究采用多位点序列分型（MLST）和微卫星基因分型以及抗真菌药敏试验，分析了来自中国东部苏州的204株VVC患者分离株。通过MLST共鉴定出46种序列类型（STs），微卫星分析揭示了146种基因型（GTs）。根据MLST，ST7是阴道分离株中的主要ST，还有相当高比例（32/46，69.6%）的新STs。值得注意的是，有27个STs是独特的单倍型，其中25个独特的STs是本研究中新定义的。微卫星基因分型显示出与MLST相似的高度变异性模式。群体遗传学分析显示存在重组证据，且ST7可能是其他相关STs的奠基群体。然而，基因型与耐药表型之间无显著关联。与VVC相关的 的分子流行病学显示在中国具有高遗传变异性和新基因型的存在。本研究突出了苏州阴道 分离株的独特遗传特征，大多数耐药菌株属于ST7。
