RecA gene sequence and Multilocus Sequence Typing for species-level resolution of Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates.
OBJECTIVE
To identify, by means of recA sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) isolates of environmental and clinical origin, which failed to be identified by recA RFLP and species-specific PCR.


RESULTS
By using recA sequence-based identification, 17 out of 26 BCC isolates were resolved at the level of species and lineage (ten Burkholderia cenocepacia IIIB, two Burkholderia arboris and five Burkholderia lata). By using MLST method, 24 BCC isolates were identified. MLST confirmed recA sequence results, and, furthermore, enabled to identify isolates of the BCC5 group, and showed relatedness with Burkholderia contaminans for one of the two isolates not identified.


CONCLUSIONS
recA sequence-based identification allowed to resolve, at the level of species and lineage, 65.4%, of the BCC isolates examined, whilst MLST increased this percentage to 88.5%.


CONCLUSIONS
BCC isolates previously not resolved by recA RFLP and species-specific PCR were successfully identified by means of recA sequencing and MLST, which represent the most appropriate methods to identify difficult strains for epidemiological purposes and cystic fibrosis patients management.
Cesarini
S
S
ENEA C.R. Casaccia - Department of Biotechnologies, Agroindustry and Protection of Health, Plant genetics and Genomics Section, 00123 Rome, Italy.
Bevivino
A
A
Tabacchioni
S
S
Chiarini
L
L
Dalmastri
C
C
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D019121:Burkholderia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D042602:Burkholderia cepacia complex / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011938:Rec A Recombinases