Abstract
BackgroundSeveral methods have been reported for strain typing of Mycoplasma genitalium. The value of these methods has never been comparatively assessed. The aims of this study were: 1) to identify new potential genetic markers based on an analysis of short tandem repeat (STR) sequences in the published M. genitalium genome sequence; 2) to apply previously and newly identified markers to a panel of clinical strains in order to determine the optimal combination for an efficient multi-locus genotyping system; 3) to further confirm sexual transmission of M. genitalium using the newly developed system.ResultsWe performed a comprehensive analysis of STRs in the genome of the M. genitalium type strain G37 and identified 18 loci containing STRs. In addition to one previously studied locus, MG309, we chose two others, MG307 and MG338, for further study. Based on an analysis of 74 unrelated patient specimens from New Orleans and Scandinavia, the discriminatory indices (DIs) for these three markers were 0.9153, 0.7381 and 0.8730, respectively. Two other previously described markers, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the rRNA genes (rRNA-SNPs) and SNPs in the MG191 gene (MG191-SNPs) were found to have DIs of 0.5820 and 0.9392, respectively. A combination of MG309-STRs and MG191-SNPs yielded almost perfect discrimination (DI = 0.9894). An additional finding was that the rRNA-SNPs distribution pattern differed significantly between Scandinavia and New Orleans. Finally we applied multi-locus typing to further confirm sexual transmission using specimens from 74 unrelated patients and 31 concurrently infected couples. Analysis of multi-locus genotype profiles using the five variable loci described above revealed 27 of the couples had concordant genotype profiles compared to only four examples of concordance among the 74 unrelated randomly selected patients.ConclusionWe propose that a combination of the MG309-STRs and MG191-SNPs is efficient for general epidemiological studies and addition of MG307-STRs and MG338-STRs is potentially useful for sexual network studies of M. genitalium infection. The multi-locus typing analysis of 74 unrelated M. genitalium-infected individuals and 31 infected couples adds to the evidence that M. genitalium is sexually transmitted.
Highlights
Several methods have been reported for strain typing of Mycoplasma genitalium
M. genitalium has been recognized as an important cause of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) in men and is likely to be associated with genital tract inflammatory diseases in women, such as cervicitis [1,2], endometritis [3], pelvic inflammatory disease [4], and tubal factor infertility [5]
Six of the non-coding region short tandem repeat (STR) were located in MgPa-related repetitive elements (MgPars)
Summary
Several methods have been reported for strain typing of Mycoplasma genitalium. The aims of this study were: 1) to identify new potential genetic markers based on an analysis of short tandem repeat (STR). M. genitalium samples derived directly from patients are usually contaminated with human cells and other microbes, and may contain PCR inhibitors [11,12]. These difficulties have impeded progress in understanding the epidemiology and pathogenic role of M. genitalium. During the last few years, several molecular methods have been reported to be useful for strain typing, including: short tandem repeat (STR)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
