Dermatophytes and other members of Onygenales are unique in their ability to degrade keratin, affecting hair and nails, and in the case of human hosts, causing skin infections. Subtillisins are essential proteases in keratin assimilation, and subtilisin-like protease 1 (SUB1) and SUB3–7 are specific for dermatophytes. eIF2α kinases are serine-threonine kinases that perform essential functions in response to infection, proteotoxicity, and nutrient scavenging. The relatively conserved nature of EIF2AK4 among fungi makes them potential evolutionary markers, which may contribute to a deeper understanding of dermatophyte taxonomy and evolution. This study aimed to assess the phylogeny of dermatophytes by examining the EIF2AK4 and SUB1 genes compared to the ITS gene marker. The phylogenetic trees generated from the EIF2AK4 and SUB1 genes exhibited a similar topology, which differed from that observed in the ITS tree. Our preliminary findings with a limited dataset suggest that the EIF2AK4 and SUB1 genes provide a reasonably correct reflection of the evolution of Arthrodermataceae. In addition, the study analyzed in vitro keratinolytic responses of 19 dermatophyte species using hairs of a broad range of mammals, including ancestral as well as derived species, as substrates. Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Nannizzia gypsea were the most active in degrading hair, while Trichophyton verrucosum, Trichophyton tonsurans and Epidermophyton floccosum showed low response. Hairs of Hyracoidea and Rodentia were most affected of all mammal hairs, while in contrast, bat hairs were difficult to degrade by nearly all tested dermatophyte species. Zoophilic species showed more activity than anthropophilic dermatophytes, but hair degradation profiles were not diagnostic for particular dermatophyte species.

皮肤癣菌和Onygenales的其他成员具有独特的降解角蛋白的能力，影响头发和指甲，并且在人类宿主的情况下，导致皮肤感染。枯草杆菌蛋白酶是角蛋白同化中必需的蛋白酶，枯草杆菌蛋白酶样蛋白酶 1 (SUB1) 和 SUB3-7 对皮肤癣菌具有特异性。 eIF2α激酶是丝氨酸-苏氨酸激酶，在响应感染、蛋白毒性和营养物清除方面发挥重要功能。 EIF2AK4 在真菌中相对保守的性质使其成为潜在的进化标记，这可能有助于更深入地了解皮肤癣菌分类和进化。本研究旨在通过检查 EIF2AK4 和 SUB1 基因与 ITS 基因标记的比较来评估皮肤癣菌的系统发育。由 EIF2AK4 和 SUB1 基因生成的系统发育树表现出相似的拓扑结构，与 ITS 树中观察到的不同。我们在有限数据集上的初步发现表明，EIF2AK4 和 SUB1基因相当正确地反映了节皮科的进化。此外，该研究使用多种哺乳动物（包括祖先和衍生物种）的毛发作为基质，分析了 19 种皮肤癣菌的体外角质溶解反应。须毛癣菌和石膏毛癣菌对毛发的降解作用最为活跃，而疣状毛癣菌、断发毛癣菌和絮状表皮癣菌的反应较低。 在所有哺乳动物毛发中，蹄兔总科和啮齿目动物的毛发受到的影响最大，而相比之下，蝙蝠的毛发则难以被几乎所有测试的皮肤癣菌物种降解。嗜动物性物种比嗜人性皮肤癣菌表现出更强的活性，但毛发退化特征不能诊断特定皮肤癣菌物种。