Identification and characterization of expressed retrotransposons in the genome of the Paracoccidioides species complex.

Background: Species from the Paracoccidioides complex are thermally dimorphic fungi and the causative agents of paracoccidioidomycosis, a deep fungal infection that is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America and represents the most important cause of death in immunocompetent individuals with systemic mycosis in Brazil. We previously described the identification of eight new families of DNA transposons in Paracoccidioides genomes. In this work, we aimed to identify potentially active retrotransposons in Paracoccidioides genomes.

Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale: genetic diversity among species and strains by random amplified polymorphic DNA method.

Onychomycosis is a common condition that represents up to 50% of all nail problems and 30% of all cases of dermatophytoses. Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale are the most common agents involved in this condition. In cases of recurrent post-treatment onychomycosis, strain fingerprinting could reveal whether the original isolate is responsible, a new strain has been acquired or if multiple strains are involved.

Molecular typing and antifungal susceptibility of Trichophyton rubrum isolates from patients with onychomycosis pre- and post-treatment.

Forty sequential isolates of Trichophyton rubrum were obtained from patients suffering from onychomycosis at two time points, before and after antifungal oral therapy. Strain differentiation by specific amplification of the two tandemly repeated elements (TRS-1 and TRS-2) of the ribosomal DNA of T. rubrum was performed.