Molecular epidemiological characteristics of Candida glabrata isolated from vulvovaginal can-didiasis
Objective:To investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics of Candida glabrata(C.gla-brata)population isolated from vulvovaginal candidiasis(VVC)in Suzhou,and to provide epidemiological evi-dence for the prevention and treatment of VVC.Methods:A total of 132 isolates of C.glabratawere collected from patients diagnosed as VVC in the people's hospital of SND from January to December 2021.Multilocus se-quence typing(MLST)involving six housekeeping genes was uesd for sequence tpying(STs).Wright's fixation index(Fst),Tajima's D,and Fu's&Li's Fs neutral tests were calculated for analysis of population genetic diver-sity.Results:A total of 37 STs were identified among 132C.glabrataisolates.ST7 was dominant sequence type,accounting for 47.0%(62/132 isolates),and 56.8%(21/37 STs)were singleton sequence types.According to NC-BI sequence type database,67.6%(25/37 STs)of the sequences appeared for the first time,namely newly defined sequence types,76%(19/25 STs)of which were singleton sequence types.ST7 was the main sequence type in dif-ferent clinical types of C.glabrataisolated from VVC.The genetic diversity among 3 populations of VVC,RV-VC,and colonized C.glabratashowed that the genetic difference of the housekeeping gene UGP1 between MLST STs analysis was small,but the genetic difference between the pathogenic population(VVC/RVVC)and the colonized population was moderate(Fst:0.05483-0.11314).Conclusion:The C.glabratapopulation isolated from patients with VVC in Suzhou exhibits high genetic diversity and obvious regional characteristics,indicating the special environmental pressure selection in Suzhou,and providing epidemiological evidence for the precise prevention and treatment of VVC.