Identification of C. auris clade 5 isolates using claID.

ABSTRACT

Candida auris poses threats to the global medical community due to its multidrug resistance, ability to cause nosocomial outbreaks and resistance to common sterilization agents. Different variants that emerged at different geographical zones were classified as clades. Clade-typing becomes necessary to track its spread, possible emergence of new clades, and to predict the properties that exhibit a clade bias. We previously reported a colony-Polymerase Chain Reaction-based, clade-identification method employing whole genome alignments and identification of clade-specific sequences of four major geographical clades. Here, we expand the panel by identifying clade 5 which was later isolated in Iran, using specific primers designed through in silico analyses.

Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen, evolves as distinct geographical clades. We describe the identification of clade 5 specific DNA sequence, which was used to design primers that distinguished clade 5 from other clades, adding to the panel of the clade-identification system.