title: Diversity of seM in Streptococcus equi subsp. equi isolated from strangles outbreaks.
abstract: Strangles is the main upper respiratory tract disease of horses. There are currently no studies on the changes in alleles of the M protein gene (seM) in Brazilian isolates of Streptococcus equi ssp. equi (S. equi). This study aimed to analyze and differentiate molecularly S. equi isolates from equine clinical specimens from southern Brazil, between 1994 and 2010. seM alleles were analyzed in 47 isolates of S. equi obtained from clinical cases of strangles (15 Thoroughbred horses, 29 Crioulo breed horses and three Brasileiro de Hipismo--BH). seM alleles characterization was performed by comparing variable region sequences of the seM gene. The alleles were also phylogenetically grouped by Neighbor-joining analysis, which demonstrated the geographic distribution of those in properties from southern Brazil. Fifteen alleles of the gene seM were found among the 47 S. equi isolates analyzed. Among these, only one allele (seM-61), which was identified in seven isolates (14.9%), was found in the database PubMLST-seM. Within the new alleles, allele seM-115 was the most prevalent, having been found in 13 isolates (27.7%), followed by allele seM-117 in 10 isolates (21.3%). In the Brazilian horse population studied, there is greater diversity of M protein alleles in S. equi isolates compared to worldwide data deposited in PubMLST-seM. Among the 15 seM alleles identified, only one allele sequence was previously published. The alleles identification is important to control the disease by guiding selection of strains for the manufacture of commercial and autogenous vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Libardoni
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vielmo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Farias
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia Beatriz
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Matter
authors.affiliation: Programa Pós-Graduação em Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria - UFSM, RS/Departamento de Zootecnia, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pötter
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Molecular, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Qualidade Ambiental, Universidade Feevale, 93352-000 Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando Rosado
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Spilki
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: agueda.vargas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Agueda Castagna
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Vargas
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018502:Streptococcus equi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C014689:streptococcal M protein