Virulence properties and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting of <i>Candida albicans</i> isolates obtained from Monastir dental hospital, Tunisia

Abstract

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization as well as studies on the virulence factors of Candida albicans isolates obtained from oral cavity of patients was carried out using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting and epithelial cells adherence assay, respectively. RAPD patterns revealed the presence of 13 C. albicans genotypes separated into two clusters at 75% of
similarity when they were combined. Results also showed the presence of haemolytic protease activity as virulence factors with 88% of the C. albicans strains been able to adhere to Caco-2 cells and only 64% to Hep-2. RAPD-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular tool used to differentiate the isolates into various genotypes based on their virulence properties.

Key words: Candida albicans, stomatitis, random amplified polymorphic DNA, Hep-2, Caco-2 cells.