DNA extraction and molecular typing of Candida parapsilosis Genomic DNA was extracted from yeast samples grown in Sabouraud broth, (Liofilchem) as previously described [16]. DNA quantity and integrity was assessed by gel electrophoresis. AFLP analysis was used to confirm species identification and to evaluate the genetic relatedness of C. parapsilosis isolates. AFLP

was performed on 50 ng of genomic DNA as previously described Selleckchem GDC973 [16]. The restriction-enzyme combination EcoRI/HindIII was used in the first restriction/ligation step. The concentration of the HindIII adaptor was equal to EcoRI (0.45 μM). Sequences of the adapters and pre-selective primers used for AFLP analysis were as already reported [17]. Pre-selective, selective amplifications and gel electrophoresis conditions were performed as previously described [16]. AFLP profiles, ranging from 100 to 700 bases, were exported as a TIFF file and analyzed with the TotalLab TL120 software package (Nonlinear Dynamics Ltd, UK) to evaluate genetic variability within the species. DNA bands obtained for each isolate were size-matched. AFLP bands were defined by time (Rf value) and by the surface of the fluorescent peak they form, as recently described [17]. Only bands which were at least 0.5% of the lane volume present

in at least one of the isolates were included in the analysis. Bands were click here considered to be absent as the surface of the peak was less than 0.03% of the lane volume. Dendrograms were built by the TL120 software using the unweighted-pair group method using

arithmetic means (UPGMA). For each pair of isolates, MAPK inhibitor a similarity index (SAB) was calculated, ranging between 0 (complete non-identity) and 1.0 (identity). The SAB between the patterns for every pair of isolates A and B was computed by the formula SAB = 2E/(2E+a+b), where E is the number of bands shared by both isolates A and B, a is the number of unique bands in the pattern for isolate A absent in the pattern for isolate B, and b is the number of unique bands for isolate B not present in isolate A. Since C. parapsilosis isolates displayed very little polymorphic fragments, but showed RVX-208 a great variation in band intensity, the latter parameter was included in genotype analysis. Thus, the quantity of each AFLP fragment was normalised as a percentage of the total quantity of the AFLP fragments for a given isolate and defined as relative intensity. For each isolate pair, the Pearson’s correlation of the relative intensities % of all fragments present in the two isolates was determined: a correlation index of 1 corresponded to a complete identical pattern. A distance matrix was obtained by subtracting the correlation between two AFLP patterns from 1 (distance = 1-correlation). This distance matrix was imported into the Treefit program [22] and used to produce a UPGMA dendrogram, which was visualised with the Treeview program [23, 24]. Biofilm formation Biofilm production by C.