Prophage carriage as a molecular epidemiological marker in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • The great majority of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae carry prophages that may be identified through their hybridization with a DNA probe specific for the pneumococcal lytA gene (M. Ramirez, E. Severina, and A. Tomasz, J. Bacteriol. 181:3618-3625, 1999). We now show that the lytA hybridization pattern of chromosomal SmaI digests is stable for a given strain during extensive serial culturing in the laboratory; the pattern is specific for the strain's clonal type, as defined by pulsed-field gel electrophoretis (PFGE) pattern, and variations in PFGE subtypes may be explained by changes in the number and chromosomal localization of this prophage(s). These observations indicate that the lytA hybridization pattern may be used as a molecular epidemiological marker that offers additional resolution of the genetic background of S. pneumoniae strains.

publication date

  • October 1, 1999

Research

keywords

  • Bacteriophages
  • Enzymes
  • N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase
  • Proviruses
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC85553

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0032849749

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1128/JCM.37.10.3308-3315.1999

PubMed ID

  • 10488197

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 37

issue

  • 10