DETECTION OF PATHOGENIC FUNGI IN HUMAN BLOOD BY THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

The ability of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect pathogeni c fungi in human blood was investigated. A DNA fragment of about 300 b p from the 18S rDNA, highly conserved in all fungi, was amplified with target DNA from 18 different species of fungi commonly isolated from clinical samples. The presence of PCR products was confirmed by hybrid ization with a fluorescein-labelled internal probe (21-mer). The PCR a ssay described is sensitive enough to detect 125 fg of purified Candid a albicans DNA and 10 to 100 yeast cells per millilitre of blood.