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Accession Number:
ADA553261
Title:
Molecular Identification of Human Fungal Pathogens
Descriptive Note:
Final rept. 23 Feb 2006-22 Feb 2011
Corporate Author:
TEXAS UNIV AT SAN ANTONIO HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
Report Date:
2011-03-01
Pagination or Media Count:
157.0
Abstract:
The increasing frequency of fungal infections and broadening spectrum of organisms that cause these infections has placed a growing burden on clinical microbiologists. This burden is especially difficult for military clinicians and microbiologists due to locations and circumstances under which they must treat their patients, which often precludes access to expertise andor technology. The goal of this proposal was to develop a universal sequence-based identification system for fungi. The aims of this study included 1 Creation of an internet-accessible sequence database for fungal identification, 2 Development of standardized protocols, including template preparation and sequencing, for these analyses, 3 Generation of reference sequences for the database, and 4 Confirmation of the utility of the database by comparison to current clinical protocols. All of these aims have been completed with the last aim representing a clinical study comparing our system to current microbiological methods for fungal identification. The results of this study, in which more than 500 clinical isolates were tested, showed that our method was significantly more accurate and faster than current microbiological methods. Importantly, the nature of our system, which entails a biocurated sequence database, allows this system to be updated regularly with novel sequences from organisms that we may not have in the database. We have also developed standard protocols, which include automated instrumentation that could be used in laboratory settings. The database is web accessible and utilizes publically available algorithms, but has been modified so that non molecular biologists as well as technicians without extensive mycological experience can access and use the system.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
