Absence of mutations associated with sulfa resistance in Pneumocystis carinii dihydropteroate synthase gene from non-human primates

The dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene from Pneumocystis carinii isolated from non-human primates was amplified using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced to analyse point mutations associated with sulfa resistance. P. carinii DHPS gene amplification was obtained from eight lung samples from five New World primate species and one Old World primate species. None of the animals had been exposed to sulfa drugs and only the wild-type P. carinii DHPS sequence at codons 55 and 57 was observed. These data support the hypothesis that high rates of DHPS mutants in P. carinii f. sp. hominis have arisen with increased use of sulfa drugs for P. carinii pneumonia prophylaxis.