Molecular characterization and allelic distribution of the phage-mediated hyaluronidase genes hylP and hylP2 among group A streptococci from western Norway.
Forty-two isolates of group A streptococcus from patients with invasive and non-invasive diseases in western Norway, belonging to the emm sequence types emml, emm3, emm6, emm22, emm28, emm75 and emm78 were screened by PCR for the phage-mediated hyaluronidase genes hylP and hylP2. The amplified genes were characterized by nucleotide sequencing and/or by PCR-RFLP, with the objective of looking for possible associations between alleles of these two genes and invasiveness. The hylP was amplified from all isolates and two main alleles were found hylP-emm3 in all emm3 isolates and hylP-emm6A in all emm6 isolates, the latter possibly generated by an intergenic recombination between hylP and hylP2. The isolates of the other sequence types had either of these two alleles, or both. Only 27 isolates gave amplicons of the appropriate size with the primers targeting hylP2. Sequencing of these amplicons showed two main types: one was similar to the published hylP2 and the other (hylP-emm6B) was probably a variant of hylP. PCR-RFLP revealed the presence of both hylP-emm6B and hylP2 in at least six of the emm6 isolates. The alleles of both hylP and hylP2 seemed to have emm sequence type preferences. No association between invasiveness and specific phage-mediated hyaluronidase genes/alleles or the production of extracellular hyaluronidase was observed.
Mylvaganam
H
H
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Gade Institute, University of Bergen, 5021 Bergen, Norway.
Bjorvatn
B
B
Hofstad
T
T
Osland
A
A
D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009664:Norway; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D017108:Streptococcus Phages / Q000235:genetics; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology
D017931:DNA Primers; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase