Comparative Analysis of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Temporal Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Profiles as a Tool for the Differentiation of Candida Species

BACKGROUND: Candida species are usually opportunistic organisms that cause acute to chronic infections when conditions in the host are favorable. Accurate identification of Candida species is an essential pre-requisite for improved therapeutic strategy. Identification of Candida species by conventional methods is time-consuming with low sensitivity, yet molecular approaches have provided an alternative way for early diagnosis of invasive candidiasis. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) are polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches that are used for studying the community structure of microorganisms. By using these methods, simultaneous identification of multiple yeast species will be possible and reliable results will be obtained quickly. OBJECTIVES: In this study, DGGE and TTGE methods were set up and evaluated for the detection of different Candida species, and their results were compared. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five different Candida species were cultured on potato dextrose agar medium for 24 hours. Next, total DNA was extracted by the phenol-chloroform method. Two sets of primers, ITS3-GC/ITS4 and NL1-GC/LS2 were applied to amplify the desired regions. The amplified fragments were then used to analyze DGGE and TTGE profiles. RESULTS: The results showed that NL1-GC/LS2 primer set could yield species-specific amplicons, which were well distinguished and allowed better species discrimination than that generated by the ITS3-GC/ITS4 primer set, in both DGGE and TTGE profiles. All five Candida species were discriminated by DGGE and TTGE using the NL1-GC/LS2 primer set. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of DGGE and TTGE profiles obtained from NL1-GC/LS2 amplicons exhibited the same patterns. Although both DGGE and TTGE techniques are capable of detecting Candida species, TTGE is recommended because of easier performance and lower costs.