Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1996 Jul;34(7):1754–1759. doi: 10.1128/jcm.34.7.1754-1759.1996

DNA sequences identical to Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii and Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis in samples of air spora.

A E Wakefield 1
PMCID: PMC229108  PMID: 8784583

Abstract

Samples of ambient air collected with three different types of spore traps in a rural location were examined for the presence of Pneumocystis carinii by screening for P. carinii-specific DNA sequences by DNA amplification. Eleven spore trap samples were analyzed by nested PCR, using oligonucleotide primers designed for the gene encoding the mitochondrial large subunit rRNA of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis. The samples were collected over a 3-year period during the months of May to September, with a range of sampling times from 9 to 240 h. One air sample from an animal facility housing P. carinii-infected rats was also examined. P. carinii-specific amplification products were obtained from samples from each of the spore traps. The amplification products from eight air samples were cloned and sequenced. The majority of the recombinants from each of these samples had sequences identical to those of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis, and a number of clones had single-base differences. These data suggest that sequences identical to those of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis can be detected in samples of air collected in a rural location and that P. carinii may be a component of the air spora of rural Oxfordshire.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (347.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Banerji S., Lugli E. B., Miller R. F., Wakefield A. E. Analysis of genetic diversity at the arom locus in isolates of Pneumocystis carinii. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1995 Nov-Dec;42(6):675–679. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1995.tb01614.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Banerji S., Wakefield A. E., Allen A. G., Maskell D. J., Peters S. E., Hopkin J. M. The cloning and characterization of the arom gene of Pneumocystis carinii. J Gen Microbiol. 1993 Dec;139(12):2901–2914. doi: 10.1099/00221287-139-12-2901. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bartlett M. S., Lee C. H., Lu J. J., Bauer N. L., Bettz J. F., McLaughlin G. L., Smith J. W. Pneumocystis carinii detected in air. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1994 Sep-Oct;41(5):75S–75S. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cushion M. T., Zhang J., Kaselis M., Giuntoli D., Stringer S. L., Stringer J. R. Evidence for two genetic variants of Pneumocystis carinii coinfecting laboratory rats. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 May;31(5):1217–1223. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.5.1217-1223.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dyer M., Volpe F., Delves C. J., Somia N., Burns S., Scaife J. G. Cloning and sequence of a beta-tubulin cDNA from Pneumocystis carinii: possible implications for drug therapy. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Apr;6(8):991–1001. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb02165.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Edlind T. D., Bartlett M. S., Weinberg G. A., Prah G. N., Smith J. W. The beta-tubulin gene from rat and human isolates of Pneumocystis carinii. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Nov;6(22):3365–3373. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb02204.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Edman J. C., Kovacs J. A., Masur H., Santi D. V., Elwood H. J., Sogin M. L. Ribosomal RNA sequence shows Pneumocystis carinii to be a member of the fungi. Nature. 1988 Aug 11;334(6182):519–522. doi: 10.1038/334519a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GREGORY P. H., HIRST J. M. The summer air-spora at Rothamsted in 1952. J Gen Microbiol. 1957 Aug;17(1):135–152. doi: 10.1099/00221287-17-1-135. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hughes W. T., Bartley D. L., Smith B. M. A natural source of infection due to pneumocystis carinii. J Infect Dis. 1983 Mar;147(3):595–595. doi: 10.1093/infdis/147.3.595. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hughes W. T. Natural mode of acquisition for de novo infection with Pneumocystis carinii. J Infect Dis. 1982 Jun;145(6):842–848. doi: 10.1093/infdis/145.6.842. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Keely S. P., Stringer J. R., Baughman R. P., Linke M. J., Walzer P. D., Smulian A. G. Genetic variation among Pneumocystis carinii hominis isolates in recurrent pneumocystosis. J Infect Dis. 1995 Aug;172(2):595–598. doi: 10.1093/infdis/172.2.595. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Latouche S., Roux P., Poirot J. L., Lavrard I., Hermelin B., Bertrand V. Preliminary results of Pneumocystis carinii strain differentiation by using molecular biology. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Dec;32(12):3052–3053. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.12.3052-3053.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lee C. H., Lu J. J., Bartlett M. S., Durkin M. M., Liu T. H., Wang J., Jiang B., Smith J. W. Nucleotide sequence variation in Pneumocystis carinii strains that infect humans. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 Mar;31(3):754–757. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.3.754-757.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Liu Y., Leibowitz M. J. Variation and in vitro splicing of group I introns in rRNA genes of Pneumocystis carinii. Nucleic Acids Res. 1993 May 25;21(10):2415–2421. doi: 10.1093/nar/21.10.2415. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Matusiewicz S. P., Fergusson R. J., Greening A. P., Crompton G. K., Burns S. M. Pneumocystis carinii in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and bronchial washings. BMJ. 1994 May 7;308(6938):1206–1207. doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6938.1206. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mazars E., Odberg-Ferragut C., Dei-Cas E., Fourmaux M. N., Aliouat E. M., Brun-Pascaud M., Mougeot G., Camus D. Polymorphism of the thymidylate synthase gene of Pneumocystis carinii from different host species. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1995 Jan-Feb;42(1):26–32. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1995.tb01536.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Meuwissen J. H., Tauber I., Leeuwenberg A. D., Beckers P. J., Sieben M. Parasitologic and serologic observations of infection with Pneumocystis in humans. J Infect Dis. 1977 Jul;136(1):43–49. doi: 10.1093/infdis/136.1.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Millard P. R., Heryet A. R. Observations favouring Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia as a primary infection: a monoclonal antibody study on paraffin sections. J Pathol. 1988 Apr;154(4):365–370. doi: 10.1002/path.1711540413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Peglow S. L., Smulian A. G., Linke M. J., Pogue C. L., Nurre S., Crisler J., Phair J., Gold J. W., Armstrong D., Walzer P. D. Serologic responses to Pneumocystis carinii antigens in health and disease. J Infect Dis. 1990 Feb;161(2):296–306. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.2.296. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Peters S. E., Wakefield A. E., Sinclair K., Millard P. R., Hopkin J. M. A search for Pneumocystis carinii in post-mortem lungs by DNA amplification. J Pathol. 1992 Feb;166(2):195–198. doi: 10.1002/path.1711660217. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Peters S. E., Wakefield A. E., Whitwell K. E., Hopkin J. M. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in thoroughbred foals: identification of a genetically distinct organism by DNA amplification. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Jan;32(1):213–216. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.1.213-216.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Pixley F. J., Wakefield A. E., Banerji S., Hopkin J. M. Mitochondrial gene sequences show fungal homology for Pneumocystis carinii. Mol Microbiol. 1991 Jun;5(6):1347–1351. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb00781.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Revised nomenclature for Pneumocystis carinii. The Pneumocystis Workshop. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1994 Sep-Oct;41(5):121S–122S. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Sinclair K., Wakefield A. E., Banerji S., Hopkin J. M. Pneumocystis carinii organisms derived from rat and human hosts are genetically distinct. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1991 Mar;45(1):183–184. doi: 10.1016/0166-6851(91)90042-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sloand E., Laughon B., Armstrong M., Bartlett M. S., Blumenfeld W., Cushion M., Kalica A., Kovacs J. A., Martin W., Pitt E. The challenge of Pneumocystis carinii culture. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1993 Mar-Apr;40(2):188–195. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1993.tb04902.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Stringer J. R., Stringer S. L., Zhang J., Baughman R., Smulian A. G., Cushion M. T. Molecular genetic distinction of Pneumocystis carinii from rats and humans. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1993 Nov-Dec;40(6):733–741. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1993.tb04468.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Stringer J. R. The identity of Pneumocystis carinii: not a single protozoan, but a diverse group of exotic fungi. Infect Agents Dis. 1993 Jun;2(3):109–117. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Stringer S. L., Stringer J. R., Blase M. A., Walzer P. D., Cushion M. T. Pneumocystis carinii: sequence from ribosomal RNA implies a close relationship with fungi. Exp Parasitol. 1989 May;68(4):450–461. doi: 10.1016/0014-4894(89)90130-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Vargas S. L., Hughes W. T., Wakefield A. E., Oz H. S. Limited persistence in and subsequent elimination of Pneumocystis carinii from the lungs after P. carinii pneumonia. J Infect Dis. 1995 Aug;172(2):506–510. doi: 10.1093/infdis/172.2.506. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Wakefield A. E. Detection of DNA sequences identical to Pneumocystis carinii in samples of ambient air. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1994 Sep-Oct;41(5):116S–116S. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wakefield A. E., Fritscher C. C., Malin A. S., Gwanzura L., Hughes W. T., Miller R. F. Genetic diversity in human-derived Pneumocystis carinii isolates from four geographical locations shown by analysis of mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Dec;32(12):2959–2961. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.12.2959-2961.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Wakefield A. E., Guiver L., Miller R. F., Hopkin J. M. DNA amplification on induced sputum samples for diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Lancet. 1991 Jun 8;337(8754):1378–1379. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93062-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Wakefield A. E., Peters S. E., Banerji S., Bridge P. D., Hall G. S., Hawksworth D. L., Guiver L. A., Allen A. G., Hopkin J. M. Pneumocystis carinii shows DNA homology with the ustomycetous red yeast fungi. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Jul;6(14):1903–1911. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01363.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Wakefield A. E., Pixley F. J., Banerji S., Sinclair K., Miller R. F., Moxon E. R., Hopkin J. M. Amplification of mitochondrial ribosomal RNA sequences from Pneumocystis carinii DNA of rat and human origin. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1990 Nov;43(1):69–76. doi: 10.1016/0166-6851(90)90131-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Wakefield A. E., Pixley F. J., Banerji S., Sinclair K., Miller R. F., Moxon E. R., Hopkin J. M. Detection of Pneumocystis carinii with DNA amplification. Lancet. 1990 Aug 25;336(8713):451–453. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)92008-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Wakefield A. E., Stewart T. J., Moxon E. R., Marsh K., Hopkin J. M. Infection with Pneumocystis carinii is prevalent in healthy Gambian children. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1990 Nov-Dec;84(6):800–802. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(90)90087-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Yoshida Y. Ultrastructural studies of Pneumocystis carinii. J Protozool. 1989 Jan-Feb;36(1):53–60. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1989.tb02696.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES