Abstract
Efficacy of random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD), a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technology, as a molecular taxonomic marker for differentiation between Trichophyton (T.) mentagrophytes (m.) var. interdigitale and T. rubrum was examined. Total cellular DNAs were extracted from four clinical isolates of T. m. var. interdigitale and T. rubrum, and were used as template DNAs. By using 6 of 9 primers, which had been synthesized 10-mers, characteristic sets of PCR-products for each species were obtained. A minimal degree of intraspecies polymorphism was observed between the isolates of T. rubrum. The results suggest that RAPD using these 6 primers is useful to differentiate between these dermatophyte species.
