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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2005, p. 4704-4707, Vol. 43, No. 9
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.9.4704-4707.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Comparison of a 3-Set Genotyping System with Multilocus Sequence Typing for Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus)

Ying Sun,1,2 Fanrong Kong,1,3 Zuotao Zhao,1,4 and Gwendolyn L. Gilbert1,3*

Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales 2145, Australia,1 Public Health College, Tianjin Medical University, People's Republic of China,2 Department of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia,3 Department of Dermatology, the First Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China4

Received 5 March 2005/ Returned for modification 17 April 2005/ Accepted 9 May 2005

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. Epidemiological studies of GBS infections require comprehensive typing systems that provide information about variable characteristics, such as antigenic type, virulence, or antibiotic resistance, as well as the "backbone" structure or the genetic lineage of isolates. We have previously described a 3-set genotyping system that identifies the molecular serotype (MS) or molecular serosubtype (msst), the protein gene profile, and the presence of several mobile genetic elements (F. Kong, D. Martin, G. James, and G. L. Gilbert, J. Med. Microbiol. 52:337-344, 2003). In this study, 83 clinical GBS isolates which had been previously studied by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) (N. Jones, J. F. Bohnsack, S. Takahashi, K. A. Oliver, M. S. Chan, F. Kunst, P. Glaser, C. Rusniok, D. W. Crook, R. M. Harding, N. Bisharat, and B. G. Spratt, J. Clin. Microbiol. 41:2530-2536, 2003) were examined by using the 3-set genotyping system. Genotypes were assigned to five isolates that were nontypeable by conventional serotyping. There were 27 "3-set" genotypes, 24 multilocus sequence types (STs), and 35 unique combinations (or strains), of which the 4 most common, msst III-2 (ST-17), msst III-1 (ST-19), Ia-1 (ST-23), and V-1 (ST-1), accounted for more than 60% of isolates. The 83 isolates were grouped into seven clusters, with a good correlation between the multilocus STs and the genotypes. The combination of 3-set genotyping and MLST adds discriminatory power to strain typing of GBS, which will be useful for future studies of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of GBS disease.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (CIDM), Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), Westmead Hospital, Darcy Road, 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, September 2005, p. 4704-4707, Vol. 43, No. 9
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.9.4704-4707.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




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