The place of molecular methods in the identification of dermatophytes and the determination of their feasibility

Abstract

Background and Design: Unlike opportunistic fungi, dermatophytes cannot be isolated on the conventional culture media in a few days. Their growing periods cover approximately two weeks in a suitable media and identification are made with conventional methods as typical macroscopic and microscopic appearance. However, successful results are not always obtained with the phenotypic features, and thus, diagnostic problems and delay in diagnosis and treatment may arise. For this reason, the methods based on nucleic acid amplification have been necessary. In this study, we aimed to identify 56 dermatophytes strains, which were identified by conventional methods, by molecular methods and to investigate the correlation between the two methods and to determine the usability of molecular methods in routine laboratories.