Detection of differences in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of diphtheria toxin from Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans causing extrapharyngeal infections.
While Corynebacterium ulcerans can mimic classical diphtheria, extrapharyngeal infections are extremely rare. Sequencing of the diphtheria toxin (DT)-encoding tox gene of two C. ulcerans isolates from extrapharyngeal infections revealed differences from C. diphtheriae DT sequences, mainly in the translocation and receptor-binding domains. C. ulcerans supernatants were much less potent than supernatant from C. diphtheriae. A C. ulcerans DT-specific PCR is described below.
Sing
Andreas
A
National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, 80336 Munich, Germany. sing@m3401.mpk.med.uni-muenchen.de
Hogardt
Michael
M
Bierschenk
Suse
S
Heesemann
Jürgen
J
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003352:Corynebacterium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003354:Corynebacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D003353:Corynebacterium diphtheriae / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004167:Diphtheria Toxin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010612:Pharyngitis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000382:microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity
D004167:Diphtheria Toxin