In a taxonomic study of yeasts isolated from flowers in Cagayan de Oro, Mindenao Island, The Philippines, strains were identified as representing Kabatiella microsticta, Metschnikowia koreensis and a hitherto undescribed dimorphic species. Sequences of the D1/D2 domains of the LSU 26S rRNA genes, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the SSU 18S rRNA genes were identical in the strains of the last-named group and differed from the corresponding sequences of the type strain of the closest related species, Candida duobushaemulonii, by 4 % (D1/D2), 7 % (ITS) and 1 % (SSU). In an independent study, a strain with D1/D2 and ITS sequences very similar to those of the Philippine strains was isolated in Malaysia from the blood of a patient dying of aspiration pneumonia. Both groups of isolates were moderately sensitive to anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole but resistant to amphotericin B. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the sequences placed the Philippine and Malaysian isolates close to the Candida haemulonis complex of Candida species. To reflect the geographical location of the sites of sample collection, the novel species name Candida vulturna pro tempore sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate these strains. The type strain is 11-1170T (=CBS 14366T=CCY 094-001-001T=NCAIM-Y02177T) isolated in Cagayan de Oro, The Philippines. Mycobank: MB 817222.
The number of new fungal pathogens is increasing due to growing population of immunocompromised patients and advanced identification techniques. Fereydounia khargensis is a yeast and was first described in 2014 from environmental samples. As far as we know, this is the first report of human infections associated with F. khargensis. The yeasts were isolated from blood of a HIV-positive patient and pleural fluid of chronic renal failure patient. Amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer and the large subunit regions confirmed the identity of the isolates. Both isolates showed multi-drug resistance to antifungal agents tested.
Candida wangnamkhiaoensis is a species clustered under the Hyphopichia clade has not ever been isolated from any clinical specimens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C. wangnamkhiaoensis associated with fungaemia in immunocompromised paediatric patient. The isolate was assigned a strain name as UZ1679/14, in which the identification was confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction-sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the rRNA gene. Antifungal susceptibility pattern showed that the isolate was sensitive to anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole and voriconazole. The patient clinically improved after the antifungal treatment with caspofungin.