title: Toxin genotyping of Clostridium perfringens strains using a polymerase chain reaction protocol.
abstract: A polymerase chain reaction protocol consisting of a multiplex to identify the cpa, cpb1, cpetx, cpi genes and a duplex to identify the cpe and cpb2 genes encoding for alpha, beta1, epsilon, eta, enterotoxin and beta2 toxins, respectively, was applied to DNA extracted from two collections of Clostridium perfringens strains. The first collection involved 19 isolates from rabbits. The second collection of 41 isolates came from routine necropsies. The cpa gene alone, or in association with the cpb2 gene, was detected in all DNA samples examined. The cpa gene, together with cpb2 gene, were detected in seven of the rabbit C. perfringens strains (36.8%) and in nine isolates from necropsies (21.9%). The cpa gene was found in 63.2% of rabbit strains and 76.9% of strains from other animal species. In rabbits, the pathological lesions associated with C. perfringens detection were predominantly forms of non-inflammatory enteropathies. In other species, C. perfringens was mainly associated with congestive-haemorrhagic enteropathy, but also with fatal traumatic lesions, degenerative diseases and organs with post-mortem autolysis. No clear correlation was observed between detection of beta2 toxin gene and species-specific pathological features.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale, Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy. p.badagliacca@izs.it
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Badagliacca
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Provvido
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scattolini
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pompei
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Giannatale
mesh_terms: D036002:ADP Ribose Transferases / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011817:Rabbits; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; C031884:CPB protein, Clostridium perfringens; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins; C109896:cpb2 protein, Clostridium perfringens; C035598:enterotoxin, Clostridium; C050737:iota toxin, Clostridium perfringens; D036002:ADP Ribose Transferases