Long-Term Rasamsonia argillaceaComplex Species Colonization Revealed by PCR Amplification of Repetitive DNA Sequences in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

ABSTRACTThe aim of this work was to document molecular epidemiology of Rasamsonia argillaceaspecies complex isolates from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In this work, 116 isolates belonging to this species complex and collected from 26 CF patients and one patient with chronic granulomatous disease were characterized using PCR amplification assays of repetitive DNA sequences and electrophoretic separation of amplicons (rep-PCR). Data revealed a clustering consistent with molecular species identification. A single species was recovered from most patients. Rasamsonia aegroticolawas the most common species, followed by R. argillacea sensu strictoand R. piperina, while R. eburneawas not identified. Of 29 genotypes, 7 were shared by distinct patients while 22 were patient specific. In each clinical sample, most isolates exhibited an identical genotype. Genotyping of isolates recovered from sequential samples from the same patient confirmed the capability of R. aegroticolaand R. argillaceaisolates to chronically colonize the airways. A unique genotype was recovered from two siblings during a 6-month period. In the other cases, a largely dominant genotype was detected. Present results which support the use of rep-PCR for both identification and genotyping for the R. argillaceaspecies complex provide the first molecular evidence of chronic airway colonization by these fungi in CF patients.