Talaromyces marneffei and other Talaromyces species can cause opportunistic invasive fungal infections. We characterized clinical Talaromyces isolates from patients in California, USA, a non-Talaromyces-endemic area, by a multiphasic approach, including multigene phylogeny, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and phenotypic methods. We identified 10 potentially pathogenic Talaromyces isolates, 2 T. marneffei.
Keywords: California; Fungi; MALDI-TOF; Penicillium marneffei; Talaromyces atroroseus; Talaromyces marneffei; United States; mass spectrometery; multigene phylogeny; opportunistic infections; red pigment.