Determination of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans mating type by multiplex PCR

ABSTRACTMating type plays an important role in the epidemiology and virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans. The present study designed a multiplex PCR method to distinguish the six mating type patterns (Aa, Da, Aα, Dα, Aa/Dα, and Aα/Da) of C. neoformans var. neoformans. PCR amplification identified one fragment for Aa (860 bp), Dα (413 bp) and Da (645 bp) strains, two fragments for Aα (320 and 400 bp) and Aa/Dα (860 and 413 bp) strains, and three fragments (645, 400, 320 bp) for an Aα/Da strain. The method appears to be a valid, simple and relatively inexpensive tool for epidemiological and virulence studies