title: Equivalence of high-virulence clonotypes of serotype III group B Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS).
abstract: Analysis of growth characteristics, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, restriction digest pattern (RDP) typing and multilocus sequence typing have identified clonotypes of serotype III group B Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) associated with invasive infection in neonates. This study sought to unify phenotypic and genotypic classifications of type III GBS strains associated with increased virulence in newborns. High-virulence clonotype (HVC) strains possessed the translation initiation factor 2 (infB) C allele, found in RDP type III-3 strains, and hybridized with the RDP type III-3-specific probe AA3.6, whereas non-HVC strains shared the infB A allele and genomic DNA from these strains did not hybridize with the AA3.6 probe. The characteristic growth lag of HVC GBS at 40 degrees C has been attributed to the presence of a heat-labile fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (Fba) enzyme in these strains. The deduced amino acid sequence of fba genes of both HVC and non-HVC strains, however, were identical. HVC and RDP type III-3 represent the same genetically related group of bacteria. The characteristic growth differences of virulent strains of type III GBS, however, are not directly attributable to differences in fba.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA 2Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 3Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico 4Department of Microbiology, Joshi-Eiyoh University, Sakano, Japan.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA 2Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 3Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico 4Department of Microbiology, Joshi-Eiyoh University, Sakano, Japan.
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bohnsack
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA 2Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 3Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico 4Department of Microbiology, Joshi-Eiyoh University, Sakano, Japan.
authors.forename: Geraldo C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA 2Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 3Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico 4Department of Microbiology, Joshi-Eiyoh University, Sakano, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA 2Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 3Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico 4Department of Microbiology, Joshi-Eiyoh University, Sakano, Japan.
authors.forename: Elisabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Adderson
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D015342:DNA Probes; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D039881:Prokaryotic Initiation Factor-2 / Q000235:genetics; D012703:Serotyping; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D039881:Prokaryotic Initiation Factor-2; D037521:Virulence Factors; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase