Molecular Diagnosis for Candida spp. in Hospitalized Patients in the City of Karbala

Abstract

The research was conducted at the College of Education for Pure Science, University of Karbala, from May 1, 2022, to June 1, 2023. The primary objective of the study was to isolate and molecularly diagnose certain species of the Candida genus obtained from hospitals in the Karbala governorate. To accomplish this, a molecular analysis was conducted on 13 isolates using the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region by employing the ITS1 and ITS4 primers. By comparing the nucleotide sequences of the studied isolates with globally registered isolates at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the results indicated that 10 strains obtained in this study were previously unrecorded in Iraq. These strains exhibited mutations in certain nitrogenous bases. Furthermore, the molecular diagnosis confirmed the identification of a species, C. ciferri, which was recorded for the first time in Iraq at the molecular level. The molecular diagnosis of Candida isolates indicated that they belong to the following types: C. albicans 6 isolates, C. tropicalis 2 isolates, C. parapsilosis 2 isolates, C. glabrata 1 isolate, C. dubiniensis 1 isolate, and C. ciferri 1 isolate. After completing the analysis of the results of the molecular study, the above diagnosed species were registered in NCBI under identifiable accession numbers: OP293043, OP293044, OP293045, OP293046, OP293047, OP293048, OP2 93049, OP293050, OP293051, OP293052, OP293053, OP293054 and OP325504 respectively.