P371 The relation of mating type (MAT) preference and source in the opportunistic pathogen Talaromyces marneffei

POSTER SESSION 3, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: BACKGROUND: Genome-wide comparisons have shown Talaromyces marneffei possessed a stable mating type locus in its meiosis genes. But the function of the mating-type locus in T. marneffei is not clear. The potential sex recombination might lead to problems in clinical, such as the evolution of increased resistance to antifungal drugs and virulence. OBJECTIVES: To determine mating type in a sample of 107 strains and to explore the possible relationship between mating-type and fungus virulence. METHODS: We used PCR analysis to determine the distribution of mating-type genes in 107 T. marneffei strains. We also analyzed the relationship between mating-type and isolated sources (including HIV-positive patients, HIV-negative patients, bamboo rats, and environment). Further, Drosophila melanogaster model of infection was used to compare the virulence difference between different mating-type and source strains. RESULTS: The results showed an entire sample population of T. marneffei with an overabundance of MAT1-2 alleles, but with a higher ratio of MAT1-1 in the isolates from HIV-negative patients. However, no significant differences in the survival of the Drosophila melanogaster infected neither with MAT1-1 (6.5 days) nor MAT1-2 (4 days) isolates. Similar results were also observed in virulence analysis tested with different sources of isolates. CONCLUSIONS: All isolates bearing single mating type idiomorphs and unequal distribution. The distribution of the MAT genes seems related to different sources. And the pathogenicity differences are independent of mating type genotype and source.