Hyphal wall protein ۱ gene: A potential marker for the identification of different Candida species and phylogenetic analysis

Background and Purpose: Hyphal wall protein ۱ (HWP۱) is an important adhesin which usually is expressed on the germ tube and hyphal surface produced by different Candida species. The hyphal wall protein-coding gene (HWP۱) was evaluated as a novel identification and phylogenetic marker in Candida tropicalis, C. orthopsilosis, C. parapsilosis and C. glabrata. Materials and Methods: Initially, four specific primer pairs were designed, and the target was amplified and finally sequenced. A total of ۷۷ Candida isolates from four different species were included in the study. Consensus sequences were used for the evaluation of phylogenetic tree using the CLC Genome Workbench, GENEIOUS, and MEGA softwares and the levels of nucleotide and amino acid polymorphism were assessed. Results: According to the results, the specific amplified fragments of HWP۱ gene were useful for the differentiation of four species. Intra-species variation was observed only in C. tropicalis with two DNA types. The phylogenetic tree of Candida species based on the HWP۱ gene showed consistency in topology with those inferred from other gene sequences. Conclusion: We found that HWP۱ gene was an excellent marker for the identification of non-albicans Candida species as well as the phylogenetic analysis of the most clinically significant Candida species.

کلیدواژه ها:

Candida species ، HWP۱ gene ، Identification ، phylogenetic analysis