1887

Abstract

Mushroom worker's lung (MWL) is a hypersensitivity pneumonitis or allergic alveolitis caused by a type III IgG-mediated immunopathogenic inflammatory reaction in the host due to the inhalation of several thermophilic organisms, including spp. It is difficult to distinguish phenotypically the eight species of this genus; therefore, this study sought to develop an improved molecular means of identifying spp. associated with MWL by partial 16S rDNA PCR amplification and direct sequencing. Hypervariable regions within the 16S rRNA gene, which could be employed as signature sequences of the eight individual species, were identified and employed with highly conserved flanking primers to allow initial PCR amplification, before direct DNA sequencing of the 16S rDNA amplicons. A novel 24-mer 16S rDNA oligonucleotide upstream primer was designed from alignments of all spp. and was employed in combination with downstream (reverse) 16S rDNA primers. This permitted the successful identification of all four isolates associated with mushroom workers’ lung. The method may be useful in the identification of spp. associated with allergic alveolitis or pneumonitis associated with occupational exposure in agricultural and horticultural environments.

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/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/0022-1317-51-12-1117
2002-12-01
2024-12-14
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