An atypical, pigment-producingMetschnikowiastrain from a leukaemia patient

Abstract

A yeast strain was isolated from the sputum sample of a leukaemia patient in the Spirito Santo Hospital of Pescara, Italy. The fungus produced a pigment that formed a reddish halo around colonies, and was identified and deposited as a Metschnikowia spp. (accession number IHEM 25107-GenBank accession number JQ921016) in the BCCM/IHEM collection of biomedical fungi and yeasts (Bruxelles, Belgium). Although the physiology of the strain was close to that of Metschnikowia sinensis, the D1/D2 sequence did not correspond to any previously described Metschnikowia species. Phylogeny of the genus Metschnikowia is complex and requires far more analysis. We present the first non-M. pulcherrima Metschnikowia spp. isolate recovered from a human, and emphasize the role of man as a transient carrier of environmental yeasts, the pathogenicity of which still needs to be defined.

Isolation and Characterization of an Atypical Metschnikowia sp. Strain from the Skin Scraping of a Dermatitis Patient

“…pulcherrima and Metschnikowia sp. strain IHEM 25107 were the only Metschnikowia known to have been isolated from human [ 8 , 19 – 22 ]. M .…”

“…pulcherrima and Metschnikowia sp. strain IHEM 25107 contain pulcherrimin pigment which could provide an advantage for the survival in humans [ 8 , 17 ]. In this study, our molecular and physiological data revealed that the isolate UM 1034 did not match with both M .…”

“…Such observation was in tandem with Metschnikowia sp. strain IHEM 25107 which also described the absence of ascospore [ 8 ]. However, this isolate lacks the pigment producing ability as compared to both M .…”

“…Metschnikowia includes water and terrestrial ascomycetous yeast that inhabit flowers, fruits, flower- pollinating insects, and lacewings [ 2 – 7 ]. At present, a total of 35 Metschnikowia species have been identified [ 8 ]. The D1/D2 domain of large subunit (26S) ribosomal DNA region is sufficiently variable to distinguish all known Metschnikowia species [ 1 , 9 ].…”

“…However, in 2012, Savine et al . [ 8 ] recovered a pigment-producing Metschnikowia non- pulcherrima strain IHEM 25107 from sputum specimen of a leukaemia patient [ 8 ]. D1/D2 domain-based phylogeny revealed that the strain IHEM 25107 was not clustered with all known species and proposed it is a novel Metschnikowia species.…”