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Multilocus Sequence Typing of Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus from India

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Abstract

Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complex. In the present study, to understand the molecular epidemiology of 208 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus from different parts of India, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) using ISHAM MLST consensus scheme for C. neoformans/C. gattii species complex was used. MLST analysis yielded a total of 10 Sequence Types (STs)—7 STs for C. neoformans and 3 for C. gattii species complex. The majority of isolates identified as C. neoformans belonged to molecular type VNI with predominant STs 31 and 93. Only 3 isolates of C. gattii species complex were obtained, belonging to ST58 and ST215 of VGI and ST69 of VGIV. Phylogenetic analysis revealed less diversity among the clinical Indian isolates compared to the global MLST database. No association between prevalent STs and HIV status, geographical origin or minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) could be established.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to laboratory technologist Mr. Bhaskar Rana for maintaining the cultures

Funding

This work was supported by Department of Biotechnology, India (BT/PR5193/MED/29/463/2012), and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India (A-08).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Delhi, 110029, India

    Immaculata Xess, Mragnayani Pandey, Yubhisha Dabas, Reshu Agarwal, Prashant Mani, Bimal K. Das & Gagandeep Singh

  2. Department of Microbiology, University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) & Guru TegBahadur (GTB) Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Shukla Das & Shyama Sharma

  3. Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Padma M. V. Srivastava

  4. Department of Microbiology, Institute of Human Behavior& Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, India

    Rajeev Thakur

  5. Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Ashutosh Biswas

  6. Department of Nephrology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Dipankar Bhowmik

  7. Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India

    Rakesh Singh

  8. Department of Microbiology, Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG) Medical College & Hospital, Brahmapur, Odisha, India

    Preetilata Panda

  9. Department of Microbiology, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong, Meghalaya, India

    A. C. Phukan

  10. Department of Microbiology, Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK), Kohima, Nagaland, India

    Margaret Yhome

  11. Department of Microbiology, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, India

    Chithra Valsan

  12. Department of Microbiology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC & RI), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Anupma Jyoti Kindo

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  1. Immaculata Xess
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Xess, I., Pandey, M., Dabas, Y. et al. Multilocus Sequence Typing of Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus from India. Mycopathologia 186, 199–211 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-020-00500-6

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