Comparative Genomic Analysis of an Apiotrichum cacaoliposimilis Strain Isolated from a Patient with Urinary Tract Infection.

Abstract

Opportunistic infections caused by fungi, particularly those occurring in immunocompromised patients, are considered challenging worldwide. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of pathogenic fungi is necessary. The present study reports the isolation of a strain of Apiotrichum cacaoliposimilis, which is difficult to detect using conventional clinical assays, from the sterile urine samples of a patient with a urinary tract infection. Sanger sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer regions confirmed the genus of the microbe, while whole-genome sequencing yielded the initial genome assembly of A. cacaoliposimilis. A total of 7,161 predicted proteincoding genes were mapped using multiple databases, including Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, non-redundant protein database, Pathogen-Host Interactions Database, and Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database. The phenotypic data, biochemical reactions, and antimicrobial susceptibility analyses were conducted to reveal the metabolic properties, virulence, and drug resistance profile of the isolated A. cacaoliposimilis. The rank-sum test revealed the differences in the intergeneric distribution of the highly virulent genes UgeB and Pem2. In addition, other genes exhibited significant overlap in terms of virulence factors with the clinical isolate Apiotrichum mycotoxinivorans GMU1709. Fortunately, similar to most fungi belonging to the Apiotrichum genus, the isolate investigated in the present study was also sensitive to the drug voriconazole (MIC = 0.06 μg/ml). In summary, the phylogenetic placement, potential pathogenic genes, drug sensitivity patterns, and morphological characteristics of the isolated A. cacaoliposimilis were determined precisely in the present study.