Molecular study of SCP, NP, MEP genes in Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes isolated from dermatophyte lesions

Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes are important causes of human and animal skin infections that cause infection by expressing pathogenic genes. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and role of pathogenic genes in the pathogenesis of these fungies. In this study, 48 approved samples were obtained from the mycology collection of Pasteur Institute of Tehran. The fungies were grown in specific media and differential tests were performed for both dermatophytes. DNA extraction was performed using a special kit. Multiplex PCR was performed using specific primers to evaluate the presence of target genes. The results obtained from Multiplex PCR showed that in the studied strains mep4 and mep1,2,4 showed the highest presence in Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes, respectively. The results of Multiplex PCR for ScpA, B and Np genes indicated that NP gene was present in approximately 80% of both dermatophyte strains. The presence of ScpA gene was observed in 6 strains of Trichophyton rubrum and 14 strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The data of this study confirmed the synergistic effect of pathogenic genes in the pathogenesis process. The present study also proved that the Multiplex PCR method is an accurate and precise method that can increase the chances of treatment in patients with this disease by significant reducing the time of diagnosis of dermatophytosis.