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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2002, p. 216-226, Vol. 40, No. 1
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.1.216-226.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Serotype Identification of Group B Streptococci by PCR and Sequencing

Fanrong Kong,1 Sonia Gowan,2 Diana Martin,2 Gregory James,1 and Gwendolyn L. Gilbert1*

Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia,1 Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand2

Received 19 June 2001/ Returned for modification 7 August 2001/ Accepted 7 October 2001

Group B streptococcus (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) is the most common cause of neonatal and obstetric sepsis and is an increasingly important cause of septicemia in elderly individuals and immunocompromised patients. Ongoing surveillance to monitor GBS serotype distribution will be needed to guide the development and use of GBS conjugate vaccines. We designed sequencing primers based on the previously published sequences of the capsular polysaccharide (cps) gene clusters to further define partial cps gene clusters for eight of the nine GBS serotypes (serotypes Ia to VII). Subsequently, we designed and evaluated primers to identify serotypes Ia, Ib, III, IV, V, and VI directly by PCR and all eight serotypes (serotypes Ia to VII) by sequence heterogeneity. A total of 206 clinical GBS isolates were used to compare our molecular serotype (MS) identification method with conventional serotyping (CS). All clinical isolates were assigned an MS, whereas 188 of 206 (91.3%) were assigned a serotype by use of antisera. A small number of isolates (serosubtypes III-3 and III-4) showed different serotype specificities between PCR and sequencing, but the PCR results correlated with those obtained by CS. The overall agreement between the MS identification method and CS for isolates for which results of both tests were available was 100% (188 of 188 isolates). The MS identification method is a specific and practical alternative to conventional GBS serotyping and will facilitate epidemiological studies.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Darcy Rd., Westmead, New South Wales, 2145 Australia. Phone: (612) 9845 6255. Fax: (612) 9893 8659. E-mail: lyng{at}icpmr.wsahs.nsw.gov.au.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2002, p. 216-226, Vol. 40, No. 1
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.1.216-226.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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Copyright © 2002 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.