Phylogenetic analysis ofPythium insidiosumThai strains using cytochrome oxidase II (COXII) DNA coding sequences and internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS)

Abstract

To investigate the phylogenetic relationship among Pythium insidiosum isolates in Thailand, we investigated the genomic DNA of 31 P. insidiosum strains isolated from humans and environmental sources from Thailand, and two from North and Central America. We used PCR to amplify the partial COX II DNA coding sequences and the ITS regions of these isolates. The nucleotide sequences of both amplicons were analyzed by the Bioedit program. Phylogenetic analysis using genetic distance method with Neighbor Joining (NJ) approach was performed using the MEGA4 software. Additional sequences of three other Pythium species, Phytophthora sojae and Lagenidium giganteum were employed as outgroups. The sizes of the COX II amplicons varied from 558-564 bp, whereas the ITS products varied from approximately 871-898 bp. Corrected sequence divergences with Kimura 2-parameter model calculated for the COX II and the ITS DNA sequences ranged between 0.0000-0.0608 and 0.0000-0.2832, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis using both the COX II and the ITS DNA sequences showed similar trees, where we found three sister groups (A(TH), B(TH), and C(TH)) among P. insidiosum strains. All Thai isolates from clinical cases and environmental sources were placed in two separated sister groups (B(TH) and C(TH)), whereas the Americas isolates were grouped into A(TH.) Although the phylogenetic tree based on both regions showed similar distribution, the COX II phylogenetic tree showed higher resolution than the one using the ITS sequences. Our study indicates that COX II gene is the better of the two alternatives to study the phylogenetic relationships among P. insidiosum strains.

In vitro activity of carvacrol and thymol combined with antifungals or antibacterials against Pythium insidiosum

“…The variability in the results of in vitro activity of antimicrobials against P. insidiosum can be related to the phylogenetic diversity, particularly among clinical isolates of the Americas and Asia [5,14,33] as well as the different methods of implementation and interpretation used in these in vitro susceptibility tests [7,21] 1 . These observations suggest the need for a standardization of techniques and comparison of phylogenetically distinct isolates.…”

The emerging epidemiology of mould infections in developing countries

“…Pythium insidiosum, an opportunistic oomycete (pseudofungi), has been reported almost exclusively from Thailand [60][61][62][63]. It is frequently isolated from irrigation water and reservoirs in Thailand, and is endemic in its agricultural regions [61,62].…”

New Insights into the In Vitro Susceptibility of Pythium insidiosum

“…This diversity in susceptibility testing techniques likely correlates with the diversity of MICs observed for P. insidiosum (see Table S2 in the supplemental material). The phylogenetic diversity, especially among the clinical isolates from the Americas and Asia (29)(30)(31), may be another factor that is related to the different susceptibility profiles of P. insidiosum.…”