BIOTYPE DIVERSITY OF CANDIDA-PARAPSILOSIS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THECLINICAL SOURCE AND EXPERIMENTAL PATHOGENICITY

Environmental, vaginal, and blood isolates of Candida parapsilosis wer e biotyped by karyotype analysis in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Morphotype and resistotype were also determined as was aspartyl protei nase secretion and pathogenicity in a systemic mouse infection model, Overall, the karyotype patterns consisted of 6-9 chromosome bands (>3. 0-0.6 Mb) with limited clustering, since most isolates had unique chro mosome profiles. Major clusters of C, parapsilosis, differing by sourc e of isolation and in experimental pathogenicity, could be discriminat ed by morphoresistotyping, The morphotypes of isolates from subjects w ith candidemia ranged from one that caused elevated mortality in the n ormal mouse to those that were totally avirulent in the neutropenic an imal. Among clinical isolates, secretion of aspartyl proteinase was hi gher in vaginitis than in candidemia isolates and did not correlate wi th the experimental pathogenicity, These results emphasize the biotype diversity of C. parapsilosis and have potentially important epidemiol ogic and pathologic implications.