Investigation of the correlation between virulence factors and genotypic profiles of Candida albicans isolated from turkeys

Candida albicans exists as an element of the normal flora in the skin, mucosa, and gastrointestinal tract, which is the principal reservoir for this organism. When the delicate balance in the host-yeast relationship is tipped in favour of the microorganism by antimicrobial treatment, illness, or other debilities of the host, fungi may overgrow and cause disease, such as candidiasis. The aim of this study was to analyse three virulence factors, haemolysin, proteinase, and phospholipase, with the genotypic profiles of C. albicans isolated from turkeys and to investigate if any correlation between these features exists. The genotypic profiles were generated using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the RDS6 primer, and the enzymatic activity was evaluated in culture. Among the C. albicans isolates, four genotypic profiles using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and three enzymatic profiles were defined. Genotypic profile A was characterised by seven bands, genotypic profile B was characterised by nine bands, genotypic profile C was characterised by nine bands, and genotypic profile D was characterised by four bands. Enzymatic profile I demonstrated no haemolysin or proteinase activity, but phospholipase activity was present; enzymatic profile II displayed no proteinase activity, but haemolysin and phospholipase activity were produced; and enzymatic profile III revealed all three types of enzymatic activity. The genotypic profiles were strictly correlated with the enzymatic profiles among the C. albicans isolates from poultry.