A new, sensitive polynucleotide probe for distinguishing Candida albicans strains and its use with a computer assisted archiving and pattern comparison system.

The repetitive DNA sequence poly[d(GT).d(CA)],(polyGT) can be used to generate DNA fingerprints that distinguish different yeast genera. In this study we demonstrate that the probe can also be used to distinguish individual strains of clinical isolates of Candida albicans. Isolates were fingerprinted by probing Southern blots of restriction enzyme-cleaved DNA samples with radioactively labelled polyGT. The discrimination between strains was clearer than can be achieved by direct visualization of ethidium bromide stained gels and was comparable to that achieved with previous DNA probes. However, the advantage of this probe is that it is not limited to Candida species since polyGT sequences appear to be ubiquitous in eukaryotes. Fingerprints were also generated from Southern blots using a commercial (AMBIS) radioanalytical imaging computer system. A proprietary software package (MICRO PM) was effective in discriminating between the C. albicans strains. These preliminary results indicate the potential value of this probe for discrimination between Candida isolates in epidemiological studies of candidosis.