A rapid PCR-SSCP screening method for identification of Aspergillus Sect. Nigri species by the detection of calmodulin nucleotide variations

Overview & Synopsis

Single-stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis for genetic diversity studies has been widely applied to detect indirectly sequence differences up to a single base in amplified DNA fragments of the same length, representing an alterative to gene-sequencing. In this study SSCP analysis was used to detect sequence variations contained in an about 180 bp-region of the calmodulin gene in order to identify Aspergillus Sect. Nigri species. The method described shows that fluorescence-based SSCP analysis by capillary electrophoresis (SSCP-CE) is cheaper and faster than direct sequencing, and suitable for computer-assisted analyses allowing discrimination between the Aspergillus species belonging to the Nigri Section: A. aculeatus, Aspergillus “atypic uniseriate”, A. brasiliensis, A. carbonarius, A. ellipticus, A. foetidus, A. heteromorphus, A. ibericus, A. japonicus, A. niger, and A. tubingensis.