title: Use of AFLP, plasmid typing and phenotyping in a comparative study to assess genetic diversity of Shigella flexneri strains.
abstract: Shigella flexneri infections are one of the main causes of acute diarrhoea in Cuba. Twenty strains isolated from sporadic cases in nine different Cuban provinces were characterized. Serotyping, antibiotic-resistance typing, plasmid-typing and AFLP-typing were used to determine their suitability for use in epidemiological studies of S. flexneri. The predominant serotypes were serotype 6 (35%) and serotype 2 (35%). Eleven different plasmid profiles were detected (Diversity Index = 0.92). AFLP-typing discriminated 12 different patterns (DI = 0.95), these patterns were not coincident with plasmid-typing patterns. Both techniques combined distinguished 14 patterns among the 20 studied strains (DI = 0.99). There was no consistent relationship between plasmid-typing and AFLP-typing patterns or antibiotic-resistance typing patterns. Ninety-five percent of S. flexneri strains were multiresistant.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia de Salmonella y Shigella, Servicio de Bacteriologia, Centro Nacional de Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Usera
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Echeita
mesh_terms: D003462:Cuba; D017931:DNA Primers; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D010957:Plasmids / Q000145:classification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012703:Serotyping; D012763:Shigella flexneri / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers