Identification of outbreak-associated and other strains of Clostridium difficile by numerical analysis of SDS-PAGE protein patterns.
Seventy-three cultures of Clostridium difficile isolated both during, and in the period immediately following, an outbreak of infection in a group of three hospitals, were characterized by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of whole-cell proteins. Each protein pattern was characterized by the presence of one or two dense bands which were highly reproducible. The protein patterns were used as the basis for a numerical analysis which divided the strains into five phenons (electrophoretic or EP types). The majority, 60 of the 73 cultures, belonged to a single phenon which included strains from both patients and the environment. We conclude that high-resolution SDS-PAGE of proteins provides an effective method for typing C. difficile and therefore for tracing the possible spread of epidemic strains in hospitals and other institutions, thereby allowing a better understanding of the epidemiology of the organism.
Costas
M
M
National Collection of Type Cultures, Central Public Health Laboratory, London, England.
Holmes
B
B
Ganner
M
M
On
S L
SL
Hoffman
P N
PN
Worsley
M A
MA
Panigrahi
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012008:Recurrence
D001426:Bacterial Proteins