Molecular Identification of Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium Species complex from Soil in Sudan

Abstract Background: Species of the genus Scedosporium is a complex of ubiquitous filamentous fungal species that distributed varies according to geographic region. Several Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium species are indicator organisms of pollution in soil and water. In addition, the fungi may cause life-threatening infections in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. This work aimed to investigate the environmental fungal occurrence of Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium species by using morphological characters and molecular sequencing. Results: Our results demonstrate that the most frequently recovered species of Scedosporium from environmental samples belonged to the Scedosporium apiospermum species complex in soil and water collected from 18 Sudanese states. These strains were identified according to their microscopic morphology and further confirmed by BT2 gene (98-100%sequence similarity) Scedosporium apiospermum was the microorganism most commonly recovered with 1662 isolates, followed by Scedosporium. boydii with 1168 , Scedosporium aurantiacum with 192 isolates, Scedosporium dehoogii with 22 isolates and Scedosporium angustum with 15 isolates .Conclusion: In conclusion, the data herein presented suggest that the presence of high numbers of Scedosporium apiospermum and Scedosporium boydii isolates in Sudanese environment may be relevant to their relative prevalence as causative agents of infection. Further surveys targeted at the environments of particular at risk groups patients, are indicated as are studies examining the genetic relatedness of environmental and clinical isolates using molecular-based tools.