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Secreted aspartate proteinases, a virulence factor ofCandida spp.: Occurrence among clinical isolates

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Abstract

Production of secreted aspartate proteinases was determined in a set of 646 isolates ofCandida and non-Candida yeast species collected from 465 patients of theUniversity Hospital in Olomouc (Czechia) in the period 1995–2002, andCandida samples obtained from 64 healthy volunteers using solid media developed for this purpose. Using random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD) 79Candida isolates from blood were analyzed to show potential relationships between clustering of the fingerprints and extracellular proteolytic activity of these strains.C. albicans, C. tropicalis andC. parapsilosis possess always proteolytic activity while non-Candida species did not display any proteolysis. A tight relationship between fingerprints and extracellular proteolysis in theCandida isolates was not shown. A remarkable consistency between fingerprint clusters and proteolysis occurred in a subset ofC. parapsilosis samples. Suboptimal pH of the growth medium was shown to facilitate the investigation of potential co-incidence of genotypic and phenotypic traits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacky University, 771 00, Olomouc, Czechia

    P. Hamal & M. Krylová

  2. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10, Prague, Czechia

    J. Dostál, I. Pichová & O. Hrušková-Heidingsfeldová

  3. Institute of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacký University, 771 00, Olomouc, Czechia

    V. Raclavský

Authors
  1. P. Hamal
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  2. J. Dostál
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  3. V. Raclavský
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  4. M. Krylová
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  5. I. Pichová
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  6. O. Hrušková-Heidingsfeldová
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. Hrušková-Heidingsfeldová.

Additional information

This work was supported by theMinistry of Health of the Czech Republic (grant no. NI/6485-3). The investigation of proteinases of the pathogenicCandida spp. is a part of a research conducted at theInstitute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Prague (no. Z4 055 905).

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Hamal, P., Dostál, J., Raclavský, V. et al. Secreted aspartate proteinases, a virulence factor ofCandida spp.: Occurrence among clinical isolates. Folia Microbiol 49, 491–496 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931614

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931614

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