Streptococcus agalactiae pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns cross capsular types

RAPD PCR detects co-colonisation of multiple group B streptococcus genotypes: A practical molecular technique for screening multiple colonies

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis. The biggest contributing factor of neonatal infections is due to vertical transmission from maternal colonisation of GBS in the genitourinary tract. Multiple serotype colonisation is often not investigated in epidemiological studies, but it is an important consideration for serotype-based vaccine development and implementation to ensure less abundant serotypes are not under-represented. In this study, we show that RAPD PCR is a quick tool useful in screening the presence of genetically different strains using multiple colony picks from a single patient swab. We observed a maximum of five different GBS strains colonising a single patient at a specific time.

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Co-colonisation of GBS strains is present in pregnant women and infants.

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GBS serotype acquisition and loss is a common occurrence during colonisation.

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RAPD PCR can be used as a screening tool to identify genetically distinct strains.

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Assay may be useful to complement serotyping before sending GBS isolates for further characterisations.

CRISPR Typing Increases the Discriminatory Power of Streptococcus agalactiae Typing Methods

We explored the relevance of a Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genotyping tool for Streptococcus agalactiae typing and we compared this method to current molecular methods [multi locus sequence typing (MLST) and capsular typing]. To this effect, we developed two CRISPR marker schemes (using 94 or 25 markers, respectively). Among the 255 S. agalactiae isolates tested, 229 CRISPR profiles were obtained. The 94 and 25 markers made it possible to efficiently separate isolates with a high diversity index (0.9947 and 0.9267, respectively), highlighting a high discriminatory power, superior to that of both capsular typing and MLST (diversity index of 0.9017 for MLST). This method has the advantage of being correlated with MLST [through analysis of the terminal direct repeat (TDR) and ancestral spacers] and to possess a high discriminatory power (through analysis of the leader-end spacers recently acquired, which are the witnesses of genetic mobile elements encountered by the bacteria). Furthermore, this “one-shot” approach presents the benefit of much-reduced time and cost in comparison with MLST. On the basis of these data, we propose that this method could become a reference method for group B Streptococcus (GBS) typing.

Trends in molecular characteristics and antimicrobial resistance of group B streptococci: a multicenter study in Serbia, 2015-2020

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Serbia has not fully implemented preventive measures against GBS neonatal diseases. Therefore, we aimed to assess the maternal GBS colonisation and invasive neonatal disease rate, to reveal the trends of antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of GBS from various patient groups. Randomly selected non-invasive (n = 991) and all invasive GBS (n = 80) collected throughout Serbia from 2015 to 2020 were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, capsular typing, and hvgA detection. Overall, 877/5621 (15.6%) pregnant women were colonised with GBS. Invasive GBS infections incidence in infants (0.18/1000 live births) showed a decreasing trend (0.3 to 0.1/1000 live births). Type III was overrepresented in infants with invasive infections (n = 35, 58.3%), whereas type V predominated among colonised adults (n = 224, 25.5%) and those with noninvasive (n = 37, 32.5%) and invasive infections (n = 8, 40%). The hypervirulent clone III/ST17 was highly associated with invasive infections (n = 28, 35%), particularly late-onset disease (n = 9, 47.4%), showing an increase from 12.3 to 14.8%. The GBS resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was 26.7% and 22.1%, respectively, with an upward trend. The emergence of the hypervirulent clone III/ST17 and the escalation in GBS resistance highlight an urgent need for continuous monitoring of GBS infections.

Streptococcus agalactiae in Brazil: serotype distribution, virulence determinants and antimicrobial susceptibility

Background

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains a major cause of neonatal sepsis and is also associated with invasive and noninvasive infections in pregnant women and non-pregnant adults, elderly and patients with underlying medical conditions. Ten capsular serotypes have been recognized, and determination of their distribution within a specific population or geographical region is important as they are major targets for the development of vaccine strategies. We have evaluated the characteristics of GBS isolates recovered from individuals with infections or colonization by this microorganism, living in different geographic regions of Brazil.

Methods

A total of 434 isolates were identified and serotyped by conventional phenotypic tests. The determination of antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by the disk diffusion method. Genes associated with resistance to erythromycin (ermA, ermB, mefA) and tetracycline (tetK, tetL, tetM, tetO) as well as virulence-associated genes (bac, bca, lmb, scpB) were investigated using PCR. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to examine the genetic diversity of macrolide-resistant and of a number of selected macrolide-susceptible isolates.

Results

Overall, serotypes Ia (27.6%), II (19.1%), Ib (18.7%) and V (13.6%) were the most predominant, followed by serotypes IV (8.1%) and III (6.7%). All the isolates were susceptible to the beta-lactam antimicrobials tested and 97% were resistant to tetracycline. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin were found in 4.1% and 3% of the isolates, respectively. Among the resistance genes investigated, tetM (99.3%) and tetO (1.8%) were detected among tetracycline-resistant isolates and ermA (39%) and ermB (27.6%) were found among macrolide-resistant isolates. The lmb and scpB virulence genes were detected in all isolates, while bac and bca were detected in 57 (13.1%) and 237 (54.6%) isolates, respectively. Molecular typing by PFGE showed that resistance to erythromycin was associated with a variety of clones.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that GBS isolates circulating in Brazil have a variety of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, and suggest that macrolide-resistant isolates may arise by both clonal spread and independent acquisition of resistance genes.

Rare serotype occurrence and PFGE genotypic diversity of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from tilapia in China

Previously, we reported 10 PEGE types of 85 tilapia Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), which shifted from Streptococcus iniae in China, by using PEGE method. Presently, larger and more representative tilapia GBS were isolated, for the first time in China, to characterize their serotypes and genetic diversities more precisely than had done before. 168 GBS strains were distributed in five provinces of China, in which Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan were the major ones, holding 36.9% (62/168), 37.5% (63/168) and 19.6% (33/168), respectively. Serotypes, Ia, Ib and III, were observed in these strains and the most predominant one was Ia (95.2%), which mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. Ia initially occurred in 2009, it shoot up to 32.1% in 2010, but decreased to 16.1% in 2011 before went up to 45.2% in 2012. Ib sporadically occurred during 2007-2011, III only occurred in 2012. 14 different PFGE types, including 4 new types (N, O, P and Q), were observed, in which B, D, F and G were the predominant types, holding 83.9% (141/168) of the total GBS strains. Ia corresponded to 11 PFGE types (A-H, N-P), in which type D predominated (51%). Ib represented 3 genotypes (I, J and Q) and III harbored only 2 genotypes (N and F). Type N and F synchronously presented in Ia and III. In summary, the genetic diversity of tilapia GBS varied by serotypes and changed with geographical locations and years. Although Ia still predominated, new rare serotype III already occurred in China.

Screening vaccine candidate strains against Streptococcus agalactiae of tilapia based on PFGE genotype

The immunogenicity identification of epidemic strain is important for the development and application of vaccine. In this study, 85 Streptococcus agalactiae prevalent strains from the tilapia main cultured areas of China were distributed among 10 distinct PFGE genotypes (A-J). For each genotype, one representative strain (S.a(A)-S.a(J)) was selected to develop an inactivated whole-cell bacterial vaccine (V(A)-V(J)), which then underwent a protective immunity test. V(A)-V(J) showed similar relative percent survival (RPS) to the homologous or heterologous strains with the identical genotype, while the average RPS among V(A)-V(J) protecting against itself genotype strains showed large differences (44.71-98.81%). The RPS of V(A)-V(J) vaccinated fish against infections by the mixture of S.a(A)-S.a(J) at 15 days post vaccination (dpv) was ranged from 13.33% to 60.00%, and V(B), V(D), V(F), and V(G) showed the highest RPS of 60.00%, 46.67%, 53.33% and 60.00% respectively. V(B), V(D) and V(G) have their own specific protection scope, V(B) showed strong protective immunity to infections caused by A-D, F, G and J (53.57-100%), and V(G) showed strong protective immunity to C-H and J (50.00-100%), whereas V(D) showed weak protective immunity to all non-self genotype strains (14.81-36.67%). The results of the combined vaccination showed that V(G)+V(B) group had wider protection scope and higher RPS value than V(G)+V(D) group. Our results demonstrated that the protective immunity of S. agalactiae from tilapia was not only associated with their serotypes, but also related to their PFGE genotypes. It is difficult to acquire a single vaccine candidate strain that can protect against all genotype strains from the same serotype.

Molecular characterization of capsular polysaccharides and surface protein genes in relation to genetic similarity of group B streptococci isolated from Polish pregnant women

Serotyping, subtyping and genotyping are important tools for epidemiological studies of group B streptococci (GBS). We investigated the genotype distribution of 353 GBS isolates originating from vaginal or rectal carriage to identify capsular serotypes and subtypes based on the surface protein genes of the alpha-like protein (Alp) family. GBS were recovered from 30% of 1176 pregnant women during the period 2007-2009, with a predominance of capsular genotypes III (35%), Ia (20%), V (17%), II (15%), Ib (8%) and IV (5%). The most common Alp gene was epsilon (26%), followed by rib (22%), alp2 (21%), bca (17%) and alp3 (14%). Several protein genes were significantly associated (G(2)=249·635, P<0·0001) with particular serotypes: epsilon with Ia, Ib, IV; bca with Ib, II; rib with II, III; alp3 with V; alp2 with III. High genetic diversity within GBS strains was observed using DNA macrorestriction. Serotypes Ib, II and III demonstrated the greatest genetic heterogeneity and serotype V the lowest heterogeneity (relative frequency coefficient ≥0·03 vs. -0·46, respectively). Macrolide-resistant strains with serotype V and alp3 gene, showed higher uniformity in genetic profile. The distribution of serotypes and surface proteins of GBS strains are necessary data to inform the design and formulation of new GBS vaccines for use in Poland and other countries.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of group B streptococcal isolates in southern Brazil

One-hundred sixty-eight group B streptococcal (GBS) isolates from a Brazilian hospital were phenotypically and genotypically characterized. Isolates were recovered from human sources from April 2006 to May 2008 and classified as either invasive, noninvasive, or colonizing isolates. Classical methods for serotyping and antibiotic resistance profiling were employed. Clonal groups were also defined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results showed that susceptibility to beta-lactam antimicrobials was predominant among the isolates. Only 4.7% were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin. The erm(B) gene was widely detected in our GBS isolates, according to our phenotypic results (constitutive macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B [cMLSB] resistance phenotype), and the erm(A) gene was also detected in some isolates. MLSB resistance was restricted to strains isolated from patients with noninvasive infections and carriers. Serotype Ia was predominant (38.1%), serotype IV isolates were found at a high frequency (13.1%), and few isolates of serotype III were identified (3%). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis results revealed a variety of types, reflecting the substantial genetic diversity among GBS strains, although a great number of isolates could be clustered into two major groups with a high degree of genetic relatedness. Three main PFGE clonal groups were found, and isolates sharing the same PFGE type were grouped into different serotypes. Furthermore, in a few cases, isolates from the same patients and possessing the same PFGE type were of different serotypes. These findings could be related to the occurrence of capsular switching by horizontal transfer of capsular genes.