Application of multilocus sequence typing for genotyping of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae
ZHANG Cui-cai1, XU Jian-min2, LI Xiu-wen1, CAO Zhi-qiang1, JIANG Xiu-gao1
1. National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention,Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China; 2. Jiangxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330029, China
Abstract：In order to explore the genetic diversity of pathogenic Leptospira, a collection of 39 strains belonging to L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae isolated from three provinces in China were analyzed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) in this study. Seven loci were chosen for genotyping in MLST analysis and the results were analyzed by eBURST and BioNumerics (Version 5.10) softwares. Among 39 Leptospira strains, a total of 5 different sequence types (STs) were obtained. ST1 accounted for 53.85% (21/39) and was the predominant genotype in the three provinces in China. The eBURST analysis revealed that 39 isolates were classified into two clonal complexes and one singleton. Group1 accounted for 66.67% (26/39), Group2 accounted for 20.51% (8/39) and the remaining singleton accounted for 12.82% (5/39). Phylogenetic analysis using BioNumerics softwares demonstrated that three major clusters (Group1, Group2 and Group3) were identified among 39 isolates. Results of phylogenetic analysis by eBURST and BioNumerics softwares were consistent with each other. Obvious epidemiological relationship was found between the distributions of STs and isolated location. The strains isolated from the same geographic regions belonging to the same serogroup shared a common ST type. In this work, the results demonstrated that this MLST typing technique could be used to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhag strains. The current MLST method may greatly contribute to a better knowledge of the molecular epidemiology, population structure and evolutionary studies of pathogenic Leptospira.
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2015, Vol. 31 
