title: International Mycoplasma pneumoniae typing study: interpretation of M. pneumoniae multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis.
abstract: Typing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) is increasingly in use. However, no specific internationally agreed guidance is available. Thirty M. pneumoniae DNA samples including serial dilutions of a type strain were sent to six international laboratories to perform MLVA and results were compared. Good correlation was observed, indicating that this methodology can be robustly performed in multiple sites. However, differences due to interpretation of fragment size, repeat sequence identification and repeat numbering led to inconsistency in the final profiles assigned by laboratories. We propose guidelines for interpreting M. pneumoniae MLVA typing and assigning the number of repeats.
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Colindale, London, UK.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Chalker
authors.affiliation: USC EA 3671 Mycoplasmal and Chlamydial Infections in Humans, University of Bordeaux, France ; USC EA 3671 Mycoplasmal and Chlamydial Infections in Humans, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pereyre
authors.affiliation: TU Dresden, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dumke
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winchell
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Colindale, London, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khosla
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Laboratory of Pediatrics, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vink
authors.affiliation: USC EA 3671 Mycoplasmal and Chlamydial Infections in Humans, University of Bordeaux, France ; USC EA 3671 Mycoplasmal and Chlamydial Infections in Humans, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bébéar
keywords: Interpretation guidelines; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; molecular typing; multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA); standardisation