Abstract:

Objective To analyze the genotypic characteristics of T. violaceum, and offer evidence for molecular epidemiological study of causative agents of pediatric tinea capitis, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Methods The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphisim （RFLP） of the nontranscribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA （rDNA-NTS） was assessed by using 5 restriction enzymes, including Hae III, Bgl I, MspI，DdeI and MboI, for 30 clinical isolates of T. violaceum from children with tinea capitis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Nine strains of T. violaceum from Beijing and 2 strains from Taiwan served as the control. Results All the 41 strains of T. violaceum were classified into 12 genotypes with the restriction enzyme DdeI. Ten genotypes were revealed in the 30 strains from Xinjiang; among them, 17 strains showed 7 different genotypes （D, F, G, H, I, J and K） with a high intraspecies diversity in comparison with the Beijing and Taiwan isolates; the remaining 13 strains from Xinjiang showed 3 genotypes, which were shared by the Beijing and Taiwan isolates. Conclusions The T. violaceum isolates from children with tinea capitis have unique genotypes, but also show genetic homogeneity with the strains from Beijing and Taiwan, hinting the genetic diversity of T. violaceum.

Key words: genotypes