title: Hybridization of 2,659 Clostridium perfringens isolates with gene probes for seven toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon, iota, theta, mu, and enterotoxin) and for sialidase.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To genetically characterize Clostridium perfringens isolates for association of pathologic type with various diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  2,659 C perfringens isolates from various nonhuman animals species, human beings, and foods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Colony hybridization with DNA probes for 7 toxin (alpha, beta, epsilon, iota (subunits a and b), theta, mu, and enterotoxin) genes and 1 sialidase gene were performed to group the isolates by pathologic type.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Enterotoxin-negative type-A isolates were the most common (2,575/2,659), were isolated from all sources, and were separated into 5 pathologic types. In cattle and horses with enterotoxemia, essentially only these pathologic types were identified. The enterotoxin-negative isolates of types C or D each had a single pathologic type. Type-C isolates were isolated only from swine with necrotic enteritis and type-D isolates from small ruminants with enterotoxemia, except that 1 type-D isolate was also found from a healthy fish. Type-B or -E isolates were not found. Among the 47 enterotoxin-positive isolates, 5 isolates from sheep or deer were type D and the other 42 were type A. These 42 isolates were grouped into 3 pathologic types: 1 type was isolated from samples of almost all origins, but the other 2 types were found in only 5 fish, 4 human beings, and 1 dog.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genetic characterization of these isolates allowed identification of 11 different pathologic types. This approach may be useful in molecular diagnosis and prophylaxis of clostridial disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Daube
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Limbourg
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manteca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mainil
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaeckenbeeck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002415:Cats; D002417:Cattle; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017931:DNA Primers; D015342:DNA Probes; D003670:Deer; D004285:Dogs; D005399:Fishes; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006041:Goats; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000235:genetics*; D011200:Poultry; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012756:Sheep; D013045:Species Specificity; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers; D015342:DNA Probes; D009439:Neuraminidase