Two cyp51-related genes (cyp51A and cyp51B) encoding 14-␣ sterol demethylase-like enzymes were identified in the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. PCR amplification using degenerate oligonucleotides based on conserved areas of cytochrome P450 demethylases of other filamentous fungi and yeasts allowed the cloning and sequencing of two different homologue genes in A. fumigatus. Southern analysis confirmed that both genes hybridized to distinct genomic loci and that both are represented as single copies in the genome. Comparison of the deduced Cyp51A and Cyp51B proteins with the CYP51 proteins from Penicillium italicum, Aspergillus nidulans, Erysiphe graminis, Uncinula necator, Botrytis cinerea, Ustilago maydis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida tropicalis, and Candida glabrata showed that the percentages of identity of the amino acid sequences (range, 40 to 70%) were high enough to consider Cyp51A and Cyp51B to be members of the fungal CYP51 family. Fragments from both genes were also cloned from other Aspergillus spp. (A. flavus, A. nidulans, and A. terreus). Phylogenetic analysis showed that, at least in the most pathogenic species of Aspergillus, there are two fungal CYP51 proteins. This is the first report of the existence of two homologue genes coding for 14-␣ sterol demethylase in the fungal kingdom. This finding could provide insights into the azole resistance mechanisms operating in fungi. The primers used here may be useful molecular tools for facilitating the cloning of novel 14-␣ sterol demethylase genes in other filamentous fungi.

The physiological patterns, the sequence polymorphisms of the internal transcriber spacer (ITS), and intergenic spacer regions (IGS) of the rRNA genes and the antifungal susceptibility profile were evaluated for their ability to identify Trichosporon spp. and their specificity for the identification of 49 clinical isolates of Trichosporon spp. Morphological and biochemical methodologies were unable to differentiate among the Trichosporon species. ITS sequencing was also unable to differentiate several species. However, IGS1 sequencing unambiguously identified all Trichosporon isolates. Following the results of DNA-based identification, Trichosporon asahii was the species most frequently isolated from deep sites (15 of 25 strains; 60%). In the main, other Trichosporon species were recovered from cutaneous samples. The majority of T. asahii, T. faecale, and T. coremiiforme clinical isolates exhibited resistance in vitro to amphotericin B, with geometric mean (GM) MICs >4 g/ml. The other species of Trichosporon did not show high MICs of amphotericin B, and GM MICs were <1 g/ml. Azole agents were active in vitro against the majority of clinical strains. The most potent compound in vitro was voriconazole, with a GM MIC <0.14 g/ml. The sequencing of IGS correctly identified Trichosporon isolates; however, this technique is not available in many clinical laboratories, and strains should be dispatched to reference centers where these complex methods are available. Therefore, it seems to be more practical to perform antifungal susceptibility testing of all isolates belonging to Trichosporon spp., since correct identification could take several weeks, delaying the indication of an antifungal agent which exhibits activity against the infectious strain.

The genes encoding 14alpha-sterol demethylases (cyp51A and cyp51B) were analyzed in 12 itraconazole (ITC)-resistant and three ITC-susceptible clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus. Six ITC-resistant strains exhibited a substitution of another amino acid for glycine at position 54, which is located at a very conserved region of the Cyp51A protein. The cyp51A gene from the A. fumigatus wild-type strain (CM-237) was replaced with the mutated cyp51A gene copy of an ITC-resistant strain (AF-72). Two transformants exhibited resistance to ITC, both of which had incorporated the mutated copy of the cyp51A gene.