title: Genetic diversity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae IB-2 and IB-6 isolates revealed by whole-cell repetitive element sequence-based PCR.
abstract: Phenotypic characterization of 19 Neisseria gonorrhoeae serovar IB-2 and 8 serovar IB-6 isolates by the combined use of auxotypes, serological characterization, and penicillin susceptibility testing indicated intraserovar genetic diversity. In the present study, we applied whole-cell repetitive element sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) analysis which allows a rapid assessment of the clonal relationships of IB-2 and IB-6 isolates. DNA templates were prepared by boiling cells harvested directly from plate cultures, eliminating the need for time-consuming phenol extraction. Six different rep-PCR profiles were established among the 19 IB-2 isolates. Rep-PCR typing results had a good correlation with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. It is slightly less discriminatory than BglII-generated macrorestriction pattern analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. It is capable of discriminating epidemiologically related from epidemiologically unrelated IB-2 isolates. It should serve as a rapid and useful subtyping tool for epidemiologic investigations in which there is a predominance of major serovar groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Poh
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tapsall
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial