Background: Penicillium marneffei is an opportunistic fungus that may cause fatal disease, and usually infects acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. The molecular epidemiology of this fungus remains enigmatic.
Methods: A multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) system based on 11 microsatellite loci was applied to 169 unrelated isolates of P. marneffei obtained from AIDS patients, in order to identify their genetic diversity. These patients came from the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, areas endemic for P. marneffei in China.
Results: For the overall population, the average number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 8 (mean 5.5), while the discriminatory power (DP) of each locus ranged from 0.235 to 0.651 (mean 0.512). By combining the information generated for 11 loci, MLMT detected 159 different multilocus genotypes (MTs), resulting in a high degree of discrimination (DP = 0.999). One hundred and sixty-nine isolates were further clustered into 9 types (from A to I) at the similarity coefficient of 0.80, with type A (80 isolates) and type B (60 isolates) being the most common types. Within 5 subpopulations from different regions of China, the distribution of MTs of P. marneffei isolates was diverse. Although 169 isolates shared a high genetic similarity (range 0.71-0.933), isolates from Guangxi and Guangdong provinces could be differentiated from each other and clustered into 2 categories by unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis.
Conclusions: By MLMT, the genetic diversity of clinical P. marneffei isolates could be discriminated, the dominant strain of P. marneffei cultured from AIDS patients in China could be identified, and clinical isolates of P. marneffei from Guangxi Province could be differentiated from those from Guangdong Province.