Diversity of Geophilic Dermatophytes Species in the Soils of Iran; The Significant Preponderance of Nannizzia fulva

A molecular epidemiology study was conducted between 2016 and 2017 by a network of collaborators from 12 provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A total of 1484 soil samples from different habitats were screened for the presence of dermatophytes by using the hair baiting technique. The primary identification of isolates was carried out by amplification and MvaI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacers regions of ribosomal DNA (ITS-rDNA). The identifications, especially in the cases of isolates with unknown RFLP patterns, were confirmed by sequencing of the ITS-rDNA region. As a result, 256 isolates were recovered. The isolation rate was higher in soils with pH range 7.1–8.0, collected from animal habitats (n = 78; 34%) and parks and gardens (n = 75; 32%), geographically from Mazandaran Province (n = 115; 49.5%) and seasonally in the spring (n = 129; 50.4%), all of which were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The dermatophytes comprising five species of the two genera, viz., Nannizzia fulva (n = 214), N. gypsea (n = 34), Arthroderma quadrifidum (n = 5), A. gertleri (n = 2) and A. tuberculatum (n = 1), were isolated. The geophilic dermatophytes occurred in various soils from different parts of Iran; however, surprisingly, N. fulva emerged as the dominant species, outnumbering the common geophilic species of N. gypsea. For the definitive identification of soil inhabitant dermatophytes, DNA-based identification is strongly recommended.

[1]  Harish C. Giugnani,et al.  Dermatophytes and Other Keratinophiic Fungi in Soils of Anguilla, British West Indies (BWI) , 2020 .

[2]  P. Dehghan,et al.  Frequency Distribution of Keratinophilic Dermatophyte Fungi from the Soil of Different Zones in Isfahan Using Morphological and Molecular Methods , 2019, Advanced biomedical research.

[3]  A. Ammar,et al.  DIVERSITY OF ARTHRODERMATACEAE COMMUNITIES THAT CREATE HAVOC TO THE OVERALL HEALTH OF HUMAN AND ANIMALS , 2018 .

[4]  Y. Jang,et al.  Low But Continuous Occurrence of Microsporum gypseum Infection in the Study on 198 Cases in South Korea from 1979 to 2016 , 2018, Annals of dermatology.

[5]  M. Dolenc-Voljč,et al.  Human Infections with Microsporum gypseum Complex (Nannizzia gypsea) in Slovenia , 2017, Mycopathologia.

[6]  M. Najafzadeh,et al.  Morpho-Molecular Characterization of Soil Inhabitant Dermatophytes from Ahvaz, Southwest of Iran, a High Occurrence of Microsporum fulvum , 2017, Mycopathologia.

[7]  M. Göker,et al.  Toward a Novel Multilocus Phylogenetic Taxonomy for the Dermatophytes , 2016, Mycopathologia.

[8]  S. Ranque,et al.  Distribution of Keratinophilic Fungi in Soil Across Tunisia: A Descriptive Study and Review of the Literature , 2015, Mycopathologia.

[9]  J. Bohacz,et al.  Microsatellite-Primed PCR for Intra-species Genetic Relatedness in Trichophyton ajelloi Strains Isolated in Poland from Various Soil Samples , 2014, Microbes and environments.

[10]  K. Zomorodian,et al.  Isolation and Molecular Identification of Keratinophilic Fungi from Public Parks Soil in Shiraz, Iran , 2013, BioMed research international.

[11]  S. Chandra,et al.  Difference in keratinase activity of dermatophytes at different environmental conditions is an attribute of adaptation to parasitism , 2012, Mycoses.

[12]  J. Novák,et al.  Keratinophilic Fungi Isolated from Soils of Long-Term Fold-Grazed, Degraded Pastures in National Parks of Slovakia , 2012, Mycopathologia.

[13]  H. Gugnani,et al.  Prevalence of keratinophilic fungi in soils of St. Kitts and Nevis. , 2012, Journal of infection in developing countries.

[14]  M. Eshraghian,et al.  Use of Single-enzyme PCR-restriction Digestion Barcode Targeting the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS rDNA) to Identify Dermatophyte Species , 2012, Iranian journal of public health.

[15]  R. Kachuei,et al.  Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from soil in Isfahan province, Iran. , 2012, Journal de mycologie medicale.

[16]  J. Bohacz,et al.  Species diversity of keratinophilic fungi in various soil types , 2012, Central European Journal of Biology.

[17]  A. Al-Hazzani,et al.  Prevalence of dermatophytes and other keratinophilic fungi from soils of public parks and playgrounds of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. , 2012 .

[18]  Meenakshi Sharma,et al.  Distribution of dermatophytes and other related fungi in Jaipur city, with particular reference to soil pH , 2011, Mycoses.

[19]  A. Oliveira,et al.  Dermatophytes from urban soils in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. , 2008, Revista Argentina de microbiologia.

[20]  Rahul Sharma,et al.  Molecular detection of Microsporum persicolor in soil suggesting widespread dispersal in central India. , 2008, Medical mycology.

[21]  J. Cairney,et al.  Diversity and ecology of soil fungal communities: increased understanding through the application of molecular techniques. , 2004, Environmental microbiology.

[22]  A. Mangiarotti,et al.  Keratinophilic fungi isolated from soil of Italian parks in the province of Pavia , 1992, European Journal of Epidemiology.

[23]  R. Papini,et al.  Survey of keratinophilic fungi isolated from city park soils of Pisa, Italy , 2004, Mycopathologia.

[24]  M. Alimoradi,et al.  Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from elementary schools and public parks in Isfahan, Iran , 2002 .

[25]  T. Menon,et al.  Soil dermatophytes in Madras, India, in relation to human ringworm , 1997, Mycoses.

[26]  R. Summerbell,et al.  The dermatophytes , 1995, Clinical microbiology reviews.

[27]  T. White.  Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics , 1990 .

[28]  H. S. Randhawa,et al.  A survey of soil inhabiting dermatophytes and related keratinophilic fungi of India. , 1965, Sabouraudia.