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. 2017 Jun;3(2):20-25.
doi: 10.29252/cmm.3.2.20.

Isolation and molecular characterization of Cryptococcus species isolated from pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees

A Kamari  1 , A Sepahvand  2 , R Mohammadi  1   3
Affiliations

Isolation and molecular characterization of Cryptococcus species isolated from pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees

A Kamari et al. Curr Med Mycol. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Cryptococcus species are pathogenic and non-pathogenic basidiomycete yeasts that are found widely in the environment. Based on phenotypic methods, this genus has many species; however, its taxonomy is presently being re-evaluated by modern techniques. The Cryptococcus species complex includes two sibling taxa of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. We aimed to investigate the possible distribution of Cryptococcus species in pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees in Ilam, Iran, using molecular techniques.

Materials and methods: Two hundred and seventy-four specimens were collected from pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees during 2016-2017. All the specimens were sub-cultured on Sabouraud Glucose Agar with chloramphenicol and bird seed agar. For molecular identification, the ITS15.8SITS2 rDNA region was amplified using the first and fourth internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS4, respectively) primers. The purified products were applied for cycle sequencing reactions in forward direction with ITS1 primer. The obtained results were analyzed with Chromas 2.3.

Results: Thirty-three out of 186 cultures (17.7%) and 11 out of 88 cultures (12.5%) were positive among pigeon nest and Eucalyptus tree specimens, respectively. Cryptococcus albidus (17.2%), C. albidus var. kuetzingii (3.4%), C. adeliensis (3.4%), C. uzbekistanensis (3.4%), and C. neoformans var. grubii (3.4%) were isolated from pigeon nests, and Cryptococcusadeliensis (25%) was the only Cryptococcus species isolated from Eucalyptus trees.

Conclusion: The presence of pigeons and Eucalyptus trees in the vicinity of some particular places such as rest homes and hospitals should be considered as a risk factor for the immunocompromised population.

Keywords: Cryptococcus gattii; Cryptococcus neoformans; Eucalyptus trees; ITS sequencing; Pigeon nests.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The frequencies of Cryptococcus species in the present study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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