Suis Strains Research Articles

Development and validation of a real-time PCR for Chlamydia suis diagnosis in swine and humans.

Pigs are the natural host for Chlamydia suis, a pathogen which is phylogenetically highly related to the human pathogen C. trachomatis. Chlamydia suis infections are generally treated with tetracyclines. In 1998, tetracyline resistant C. suis strains emerged on U.S. pig farms and they are currently present in the Belgian, Cypriote, German, Israeli, Italian and Swiss pig industry. Infections with tetracycline resistant C. suis strains are mainly associated with severe reproductive failure leading to marked economical loss. We developed a sensitive and specific TaqMan probe-based C. suis real-time PCR for examining clinical samples of both pigs and humans. The analytical sensitivity of the real-time PCR is 10 rDNA copies/reaction without cross-amplifying DNA of other Chlamydia species. The PCR was successfully validated using conjunctival, pharyngeal and stool samples of slaughterhouse employees, as well as porcine samples from two farms with evidence of reproductive failure and one farm without clinical disease. Chlamydia suis was only detected in diseased pigs and in the eyes of humans. Positive humans had no clinical complaints. PCR results were confirmed by culture in McCoy cells. In addition, Chlamydia suis isolates were also examined by the tet(C) PCR, designed for demonstrating the tetracycline resistance gene tet(C). The tet(C) gene was only present in porcine C. suis isolates.

Capsule loss or death: The position of mutations among capsule genes sways the destiny ofStreptococcus suis

Streptococcus suis, an emerging zoonotic pathogen, is responsible for various diseases in swine and humans. Most S.suis strains from clinical cases possess a group of capsular polysaccharide synthesis (cps) genes and phenotypically express capsular polysaccharides (CPs). Although CPs are considered to be an important virulence factor, our previous study showed that many S.suis isolates from porcine endocarditis lost their CPs, and some of these unencapsulated isolates had large insertions or deletions in the cps gene clusters. We further investigated 25 endocarditis isolates with no obvious genetic alterations to elucidate the unencapsulation mechanisms and found that a single-nucleotide substitution and frameshift mutation in two glycosyltransferase genes (cps2E and cps2F) were the main causes of the capsule loss. Moreover, mutations in the genes involved in side-chain formation (cps2J and cps2N), polymerase (cps2I), and flippase (cps2O) appeared to be lethal; however, these lethal effects were relieved by mutations in the cps2EF region. As unencapsulation and even the death of individual cells have recently been suggested to be beneficial to the pathogenesis of infections, the results of the present study provide a further insight into understanding the biological significance of cps mutations during the course of S.suis infections.

Development of New PCR Primers by Comparative Genomics for the Detection of Helicobacter suis in Gastric Biopsy Specimens

Although the infection rate of Helicobacter suis is significantly lower than that of Helicobacter pylori, the H. suis infection is associated with a high rate of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. In addition, in vitro cultivation of H. suis remains difficult, and some H. suis-infected patients show negative results on the urea breath test (UBT). Female C57BL/6J mice were orally inoculated with mouse gastric mucosal homogenates containing H. suis strains TKY or SNTW101 isolated from a cynomolgus monkey or a patient suffering from nodular gastritis, respectively. The high-purity chromosomal DNA samples of H. suis strains TKY and SNTW101 were prepared from the infected mouse gastric mucosa. The SOLiD sequencing of two H. suis genomes enabled comparative genomics of 20 Helicobacter and 11 Campylobacter strains for the identification of the H. suis-specific nucleotide sequences. Oral inoculation with mouse gastric mucosal homogenates containing H. suis strains TKY and SNTW101 induced gastric MALT lymphoma and the formation of gastric lymphoid follicles, respectively, in C57BL/6J mice. Two conserved nucleotide sequences among six H. suis strains were identified and were used to design diagnostic PCR primers for the detection of H. suis. There was a strong association between the H. suis infection and gastric diseases in the C57BL/6 mouse model. PCR diagnosis using an H. suis-specific primer pair is a valuable method for detecting H. suis in gastric biopsy specimens.

Detection of glutamate dehydrogenase gene (gdh) in Streptococcus suis isolated from pigs

The study was undertaken for the detection of glutamate dehydrogenase gene (gdh) in S. suis from pig isolates. The results showed that the PCR primers obtained for S. suis gdh gene amplified the DNA from all the 15 S. suis strains tested and no amplification product was obtained from the non- S.suis isolates. The PCR technique by targeting the gdh gene was found highly specific and sensitive and can be used successfully for the detection of S. suis isolates regardless of serotype or geographic origin as compared to the conventional biochemical and serological tests, which do not unambiguously differentiate S. suis from other related organisms.

Comparative Genomic Hybridization Identifies Virulence Differences in Streptococcus suis

Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen. However, identification of virulent S. suis strains is complicated because of the high diversity of the species. Here we evaluated the genetic difference among S. suis strains using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and virulence variation in vivo and in vitro. We showed that different clades differed in their ability to activate TLR2/6 in vitro and their capacity to induce cytokine production in vivo as well as their resistance to phagocytosis and survival in vivo. Our data showed the S. suis strains tested can be classified into three groups having differing levels of virulence: epidemic and highly virulent strains were clustered into clade Ia (epidemic and highly virulent group, E/HV group), virulent strains were clustered into clade Ib (virulent group, V group), and intermediately or weakly virulent strains were clustered into other clades (intermediately or weakly virulent group, I/WV group). Our study provided further insight into the genomic and virulence variation of S. suis.

Biochemical characteristics of Streptococcus suis strains isolated from healthy and deceased pigs

The aim of this study was to determine the biochemical properties of Streptococcus suis strains isolated from healthy and deceased pigs. For this research we tested 34 S. suis strains isolated from deceased pigs that had clinical signs of septicemia and meningitis, as well as from clinically healthy pigs. The strains that have been already confirmed with specific antisera were tested using commercial battery of biochemical tests (API 20 Strep and ID 32 Strep) to determine the dominant biochemical characteristics that can be used in diagnosis of bacterial infection if specific S. suis antisera are not available. The main results showed that all S. suis strains were postive in esculine, trehalose, glycogen, lactose, sacharose, starch, leucine aminopeptidase, alanine-phenyl-alanine-proline arylamidase tests, while negative in Voges-Proskauer, hipurate, ribose, arabinose and sorbitol tests. S. suis strains were in high percentage positive in arginine dihydrolase, ?-glucoronidase, ?-galactosidase, ?-galactosidase, methyl-?-dglucopyranoside, glycyl-tryptophan arylamidase and inulin tests. Athough S. suis is in highly positive in some tests, it can be concluded that Voges-Proskauer, hipurate, trehalose, esculine tests, along with ?-glucoronidase (?GUR) and ?- galactosidase (?GAL), were significant in differentiation of this bacteria from other similar streptococci, along with some other crucial features (? hemolysis on blood sheep agar, absence of growth in 6,5% NaCl broth).

Characterization of multi-drug tolerant persister cells in Streptococcus suis.

BackgroundPersister cells constitute a subpopulation of dormant cells within a microbial population which are genetically identical but phenotypically different to regular cells. Notably, persister cells show an elevated tolerance to antimicrobial agents. Thus, they are considered to represent a microbial ‘bet-hedging’ strategy and are of particular importance in pathogenic bacteria.ResultsWe studied the ability of the zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus (S.) suis to form multi-drug tolerant variants and identified persister cells dependent on the initial bacterial growth phase. We observed lower numbers of persisters in exponential phase cultures than in stationary growth phase populations. S. suis persister cells showed a high tolerance to a variety of antibiotics, and the phenotype was not inherited as tested with four passages of S. suis populations. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the persister phenotype is related to expression of genes involved in general metabolic pathways since we found higher numbers of persister cells in a mutant strain defective in the catabolic arginine deiminase system as compared to its parental wild type strain. Finally, we observed persister cell formation also in other S. suis strains and pathogenic streptococcal species.ConclusionsTaken together, this is the first study that reports multi-drug tolerant persister cells in the zoonotic pathogen S. suis.

Virulence Genes and Genetic Diversity ofStreptococcus suisSerotype 2 Isolates from Thailand

Isolates of Streptococcus suis from different Western countries as well as those from China and Vietnam have been previously well characterized. So far, the genetic characteristics and relationship between S. suis strains isolated from both humans and pigs in Thailand are unknown. In this study, a total of 245 S. suis isolates were collected from both human cases (epidemic and sporadic) and pigs (diseased and asymptomatic) in Thailand. Bacterial strains were identified by biochemical tests and PCR targeting both, the 16S rRNA and gdh genes. Thirty-six isolates were identified as serotype 2 based on serotyping and the cps2-PCR. These isolates were tested for the presence of six virulence-associated genes: an arginine deiminase (arcA), a 38-kDa protein and protective antigen (bay046), an extracellular factor (epf), an hyaluronidase (hyl), a muramidase-released protein (mrp) and a suilysin (sly). In addition, the genetic diversities of these isolates were studied by RAPD PCR and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis. Four virulence-associated gene patterns (VAGP 1 to 4) were obtained, and the majority of isolates (32/36) carried all genes tested (VAGP1). Each of the three OPB primers used provided 4 patterns designated RAPD-A to RAPD-D. Furthermore, MLST analysis could also distinguish the 36 isolates into four sequence types (STs): ST1 (n = 32), ST104 (n = 2), ST233 (n = 1) and a newly identified ST, ST336 (n = 1). Dendrogram constructions based on RAPD patterns indicated that S. suis serotype 2 isolates from Thailand could be divided into four groups and that the characteristics of the individual groups were in complete agreement with the virulence gene profiles and STs. The majority (32/36) of isolates recovered from diseased pigs, slaughterhouse pigs or human patients could be classified into a single group (VAGP1, RAPD-A and ST1). This genetic information strongly suggests the transmission of S. suis isolates from pigs to humans in Thailand. Our findings are the first to report genetic characteristics of strains from Thailand and to elucidate the genetic relationship among S. suis isolates from human and pig origins.

Human brucellosis at a pig slaughterhouse

Seventeen workers in a pig slaughterhouse with signs and symptoms compatible with brucellosis were clinically examined at the outpatient service of different health institutions and studied by serological tests during the period 2005-2011. Eleven blood cultures were taken and six Brucella suis strains were isolated, three biovar 1 and three with atypical characteristics. In order to confirm that these cases had no common source, a variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analyses were performed on 5 of the 6 strains whose results showed substantial heterogeneity in the genotypes, thereby demonstrating that the immediate origin was not the same. Two hundred adult pigs admitted for slaughter at the plant were sampled by convenience and tested by buffered antigen plate test (BPAT), serum agglutination test (SAT) and 2-mercapto-ethanol test (MET). Seven of 62 males (11%) and 25/138 (18%) females tested positive. The study results contribute information on risk scenarios for packing plant workers and underscore the need to improve plant workers' education on appropriate containment measures and to actively screen animals for swine brucellosis.

Toll-Like Receptor 2-Independent Host Innate Immune Response against an Epidemic Strain of Streptococcus suis That Causes a Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome in Humans

Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic agent causing meningitis and septicemia. Outbreaks in humans in China with atypical cases of streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome have been described to be caused by a clonal epidemic S. suis strain characterized as sequence type (ST) 7 by multilocus sequence typing, different from the classical ST1 usually isolated in Europe. Previous in vitro studies showed that Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 plays a major role in S. suis ST1 interactions with host cells. In the present study, the in vivo role of TLR2 in systemic infections caused by S. suis ST1 or ST7 strains using TLR2 deficient (TLR2−/−) mice was evaluated. TLR2-mediated recognition significantly contributes to the acute disease caused by the highly virulent S. suis ST1 strain, since the TLR2−/− mice remained unaffected when compared to wild type (WT) mice. The lack of mortality could not be associated with a lower bacterial burden; however, a significant decrease in the induction of pro-inflammatory mediators, as evaluated by microarray, real-time PCR and protein assays, was observed. On the other hand, TLR2−/− mice infected with the epidemic ST7 strain presented no significant differences regarding survival and expression of pro-inflammatory mediators when compared to the WT mice. Together, these results show a TLR2-independent host innate immune response to S. suis that depends on the strain.

Immunogenicity and safety of a natural rough mutant of Brucella suis as a vaccine for swine

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity and clearance of the natural rough mutant of Brucella suis strain 353-1 (353-1) as a vaccine in domestic swine. In three studies encompassing 105 animals, pigs were inoculated with 353-1 by conjunctival (5×107 CFU) or IM (1–2×1010 CFU) routes. Clearance, tissue distribution, and pathology of the vaccine strain were determined by periodic blood culture, collection of tissues at periodic necropsy times after vaccination, and histologic evaluation of tissue samples. The B. suis 353-1 strain was nonpathogenic, cleared from most vaccinates by 10–12weeks after vaccination, and did not induce significant histologic lesions in tissues examined. The vaccine strain appears to be phenotypically stable as all isolates recovered from vaccinates retained their rough phenotype. Vaccination induced significant humoral responses, peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production after inoculation as compared to responses of control pigs. The vaccine strain did not appear to be shed from vaccinates as co-housed sentinel animals demonstrated no serologic or microbiologic evidence of lateral transmission. Our data demonstrates that B. suis 353-1 is a stable, rough mutant that does not induce adverse clinical effects or tissue localization, but does induce significant humoral and cellular immune responses after vaccination of swine.

Case Report: Helicobacter suis Infection in a Pig Veterinarian

This study describes a non-Helicobacter (H.) pylori Helicobacter (NHPH) infection in a pig veterinarian. The patient suffered from reflux esophagitis and general dyspeptic symptoms and was referred to the hospital for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Histologic examination of corpus and antrum biopsies revealed a chronic gastritis. Large spiral-shaped non-H. pylori helicobacters could be visualized and were identified as H. suis by PCR. The patient was treated with a triple therapy, consisting of amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and pantoprazole for 10 days. Successful eradication was confirmed after a follow-up gastrointestinal endoscopy and PCR 10 weeks after treatment. A mild chronic gastritis was, however, still observed at this point in time. This case report associates porcine H. suis strains with gastric disease in humans, thus emphasizing the zoonotic importance of H. suis bacteria from pigs.

English

A recent isolate of Streptococcus suis serotype 7 (SS7), named HW07, was isolated from brains of pigs suspected with Streptococcus suis (S. suis) infection. The sequence types (ST) of this isolate was determined by Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method. In order to evaluate pathogenesis of HW07 isolate, zebrafish and pigs were inoculated with HW07 strain by peritoneal cavity and vein. The results demonstrate that the 50% lethal dose (LD50) of HW07 isolate was 1.25 × 105 colony forming units (CFU)/fish and could induce pig disease, the ST number of HW07 isolate is a novel ST-ST335. Molecular and phylogenetic analysis for the recA gene of HW07 isolate showed that it joins to the I group cluster of S. suis strains, the predominant genotype in China. Key words: Streptococcus suis serotype 7, multilocus sequence typing, the sequence type, phylogenetic analysis

Multilocus sequence typing of the porcine and human gastric pathogen Helicobacter suis.

Helicobacter suis is a Gram-negative bacterium colonizing the majority of pigs, in which it causes gastritis and decreased daily weight gain. H. suis is also the most prevalent gastric non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter species in humans, capable of causing gastric disorders. To gain insight into the genetic diversity of porcine and human H. suis strains, a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method was developed. In a preliminary study, 7 housekeeping genes (atpA, efp, mutY, ppa, trpC, ureI, and yphC) of 10 H. suis isolates cultured in vitro were investigated as MLST candidates. All genes, except the ureI gene, which was replaced by part of the ureAB gene cluster of H. suis, displayed several variable nucleotide sites. Subsequently, internal gene fragments, ranging from 379 to 732 bp and comprising several variable nucleotide sites, were selected. For validation of the developed MLST technique, gastric tissue from 17 H. suis-positive pigs from 4 different herds and from 1 H. suis-infected human patient was used for direct, culture-independent strain typing of H. suis. In addition to the 10 unique sequence types (STs) among the 10 isolates grown in vitro, 15 additional STs could be assigned. Individual animals were colonized by only 1 H. suis strain, whereas multiple H. suis strains were present in all herds tested, revealing that H. suis is a genetically diverse bacterial species. The human H. suis strain showed a very close relationship to porcine strains. In conclusion, the developed MLST scheme may prove useful for direct, culture-independent typing of porcine and human H. suis strains.

Peptide nucleic acids inhibit growth of Brucella suis in pure culture and in infected murine macrophages

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are single-stranded, synthetic nucleic acid analogues containing a pseudopeptide backbone in place of the phosphodiester sugar–phosphate. When PNAs are covalently linked to cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) they readily penetrate the bacterial cell envelope, inhibit expression of targeted genes and cause growth inhibition both of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. However, the effectiveness of PNAs against Brucella, a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, was unknown. The susceptibility of a virulent Brucella suis strain to a variety of PNAs was assessed in pure culture as well as in murine macrophages. The studies showed that some of the PNAs targeted to Brucella genes involved in DNA (polA, dnaG, gyrA), RNA (rpoB), cell envelope (asd), fatty acid (kdtA, acpP) and protein (tsf) synthesis inhibit the growth of B. suis in culture and in macrophages after 24h of treatment. PNA treatment inhibited Brucella growth by interfering with gene expression in a sequence-specific and dose-dependent manner at micromolar concentrations. The most effective PNA in broth culture was that targeting polA at ca. 12μM. In contrast, in B. suis-infected macrophages, the most effective PNAs were those targeting asd and dnaG at 30μM; both of these PNAs had little inhibitory effect on Brucella in broth culture. The polA PNA that inhibits wild-type B. suis also inhibits the growth of wild-type Brucella melitensis 16M and Brucella abortus 2308 in culture. This study reveals the potential usefulness of antisense PNA constructs as novel therapeutic agents against intracellular Brucella.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Tetracycline and Erythromycin Resistance Genes, and Multilocus Sequence Typing of <i>Streptococcus suis</i> Isolates from Diseased Pigs in China

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen causing significant economic losses in the swine industry. Here, we investigated the antimicrobial susceptibility, associated antibiotic-resistant determinants and sequence type (ST) of S. suis isolates from diseased pigs in China from 2008 to 2010. Serotype 2 was the most frequently observed strain (n=95) among the 106 S. suis strains collected, followed by serotypes 3 (n=3), 5 (n=3), 4 (n=2), 7 (n=1), 11 (n=1) and 28 (n=1). Multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed that ST1 (n=21) and ST7 (n=74) were the predominant STs, and serotype 2 was found to be significantly correlated with ST7 (P=0.017, Fisher's exact test) and CC1 (P=0.024, Fisher's exact test). The antimicrobial susceptibility results indicated that the antibiotic resistance rate was highest for tetracycline (99.1%), followed by azithromycin (68.9%), erythromycin (67.9%), clindamycin (67.9%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (16%), levofloxacin (2.8%), chloramphenicol (1.9%), cefaclor (0.9%) and ceftriaxone (0.9%). Antibiotic-resistant genes tet(M), tet(O), tet(O/W/32/O), tet(O/32/O), tet(S), tet(W), tet(L), tet(40), erm(B), mef(A/E) and msr(D) could be detected, and several tandem organizations of antibiotic resistance genes were also found in this study. In conclusion, S. suis strains isolated from diseased pigs in China were less diverse and multi-drug resistant.

Caspase-2 mediates a Brucella abortus RB51-induced hybrid cell death having features of apoptosis and pyroptosis

Programmed cell death (PCD) can play a crucial role in tuning the immune response to microbial infection. Although PCD can occur in different forms, all are mediated by a family of proteases called caspases. Caspase-2 is the most conserved caspase, however, its function in cell death is ill-defined. Previously we demonstrated that live attenuated cattle vaccine strain Brucella abortus RB51 induces caspase-2-mediated and caspase-1-independent PCD of infected macrophages. We also discovered that rough attenuated B. suis strain VTRS1 induces a caspase-2-mediated and caspase-1-independent proinflammatory cell death in infected macrophages, which was tentatively coined “caspase-2-mediated pyroptosis”. However, the mechanism of caspase-2-mediated cell death pathway remained unclear. In this study, we found that caspase-2 mediated proinflammatory cell death of RB51-infected macrophages and regulated many genes in different PCD pathways. We show that the activation of proapoptotic caspases-3 and -8 was dependent upon caspase-2. Caspase-2 regulated mitochondrial cytochrome c release and TNFα production, both of which are known to activate caspase-3 and caspase-8, respectively. In addition to TNFα, RB51-induced caspase-1 and IL-1β production was also driven by caspase-2-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction. Interestingly, pore formation, a phenomenon commonly associated with caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis, occurred; however, unlike its role in S. typhimurium-induced pyroptosis, pore formation did not contribute to RB51-induced proinflammatory cell death. Our data suggest that caspase-2 acts as an initiator caspase that mediates a novel RB51-induced hybrid cell death that simulates but differs from typical non-proinflammatory apoptosis and caspase-1-mediated proinflammatory pyroptosis. The initiator role of the caspase-2-mediated cell death was also conserved in cellular stress-induced cell death of macrophages treated with etoposide, naphthalene, or anti-Fas. Caspase-2 also regulated caspase-3 and -8 activation, as well as cell death in macrophages treated with each of the three reagents. Taken together, our data has demonstrated that caspase-2 can play an important role in mediating a proinflammatory response and a hybrid cell death that demonstrates features of both apoptosis and pyroptosis.

Identification of the virB operon genes encoding the type IV secretion system, in Colombian Brucella canis isolates

Canine brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella canis. The establishment of intracellular replicative niches of B. canis is mediated by proteins secreted by the type IV secretion system, which is encoded by the virB operon. The characterization of such genes has been conducted in other species of the genus, but not in B. canis.We report the design of a multiplex PCR test for the detection of the virB operon genes of B. canis. Primers for each of the 12 genes were designed and evaluated using bioinformatics tools. A multiplex PCR assay was standardized and applied to 36 isolates obtained from infected dogs of Aburrá Valley kennels, as well to the Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis and Brucella ovis DNA strains. As a result of the in silico design, a pair of primers for each gene was selected. All species and isolates evaluated showed evidence of the presence of the entire virB operon.

Clinical Resistance and Decreased Susceptibility inStreptococcus suisIsolates from Clinically Healthy Fattening Pigs

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) has often been reported as an important swine pathogen and is considered as a new emerging zoonotic agent. Consequently, it is important to be informed on its susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. In the current study, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) population distribution of nine antimicrobial agents has been determined for nasal S. suis strains, isolated from healthy pigs at the end of the fattening period from 50 closed or semiclosed pig herds. The aim of the study was to report resistance based on both clinical breakpoints (clinical resistance percentage) and epidemiological cutoff values (non-wild-type percentage). Non-wild-type percentages were high for tetracycline (98%), lincomycin (92%), tilmicosin (72%), erythromycin (70%), tylosin (66%), and low for florfenicol (0%) and enrofloxacin (0.3%). Clinical resistance percentages were high for tetracycline (95%), erythromycin (66%), tylosin (66%), and low for florfenicol (0.3%) and enrofloxacin (0.3%). For tiamulin, for which no clinical breakpoint is available, 57% of the isolates did not belong to the wild-type population. Clinical resistance and non-wild-type percentages differed substantially for penicillin. Only 1% of the tested S. suis strains was considered as clinically resistant, whereas 47% of the strains showed acquired resistance when epidemiological cutoff values were used. In conclusion, MIC values for penicillin are gradually increasing, compared to previous reports, although pigs infected with strains showing higher MICs may still respond to treatment with penicillin. The high rate of acquired resistance against tiamulin has not been reported before. Results from this study clearly demonstrate that the use of different interpretive criteria contributes to the extent of differences in reported antimicrobial resistance results. The early detection of small changes in the MIC population distribution of isolates, while clinical failure may not yet be observed, provides the opportunity to implement appropriate risk management steps.

Characterization of Streptococcus suis Isolates from Slaughter Swine

The characterization of 61 Streptococcus suis strains isolated from Chinese slaughter pigs was investigated. S. suis serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, and 1/2 were found in the isolates by serum agglutination. Of all the prevalent serotypes, S. suis serotype 7 is the most predominant circulating in Chinese slaughter pigs. The virulence-associated genes profile and multilocus sequence typing scheme of the isolates were analyzed. The mrp-/epf-/sly- virulence-associated genes type is the most prevalent in the isolates from slaughter pigs. It is the first time to find S. suis serotypes 7 and 9 isolates with epf. The serotypes 7 and 9 isolates with mrp and/or epf genes did not express MRP and/or EF in the present research. Thirteen new ST types were identified for the first time. ST1 complex and ST27 complex of S. suis are prevalent in China. This paper supplied information to understand the characteristics, such as capsular serotypes, virulence factors, and gene backgrounds of S. suis carried by slaughter pigs.