2021/04/13 by Chao Tang, Xue Kong, Sarah Ahmed +12 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Fungal Infections and Studies #Nail Diseases and Treatments #Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s11046-021-00544-2
openalex publication_date 2021/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
A severe outbreak of highly virulent and multi-resistant dermatophytosis by species in the Trichophyton mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale complex is ongoing in India. The correct identity of the etiologic agent is a much-debated issue. In order to define species limits, a taxonomic study was undertaken combining molecular, morphological, and physiological characteristics as evidence of classification. Molecular characteristics show that T. mentagrophytes s. str. and T. interdigitale s. str. can be distinguished with difficulty from each other, but are unambiguously different from the Indian genotype, T. indotineae by sequences of the HMG gene. The entities were confirmed by multilocus analysis using tanglegrams. Phenotypic characters of morphology and physiology are not diagnostic, but statistically significant differences are observed between the molecular siblings. These properties may be drivers of separate evolutionary trends. Trichophyton mentagrophytes represents the ancestral, homothallic cloud of genotypes with a probable geophilic lifestyle, while T. indotineae and T. interdigitale behave as anthropophilic, clonal offshoots. The origin of T. indotineae, which currently causes a significant public health problem, is zoonotic, and its emergence is likely due to widespread misuse of antifungals.