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The utility of the PCR melting profile technique for typing C orynebacterium diphtheriae isolates
Author(s) -
Zasada A. A.,
Formińska K.,
Wołkowicz T.,
Badell E.,
Guiso N.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.12274
Subject(s) - corynebacterium diphtheriae , typing , genotyping , multilocus sequence typing , biology , diphtheria , ribotyping , outbreak , microbiology and biotechnology , genotype , virology , vaccination , genetics , gene
Selection of appropriate typing method depends on a number of factors, including the scale of the investigation, the rapidity required of the results and the financial and technical resources available. Several typing methods have been applied to Corynebacterium diphtheriae genotyping, but most are laborious and time‐consuming or require expensive equipment. We report an evaluation of the utility of the PCR melting profile technique for simple and easy‐to‐perform genotyping of C. diphtheriae . We compared the method with ribotyping—the ‘gold standard’ for C. diphtheriae typing—and PFGE , MLST , AFLP , RAPD and spoligotyping. Significance and Impact of the Study Occurrence of Corynebacterium diphtheriae infections—in the form of diphtheria in endemic countries and in the form of invasive infections in countries with high antidiphtheria vaccination coverage—indicates the need for maintenance of ability to genotype this pathogen by laboratories. Application of an appropriate typing method is essential not only in outbreak investigations for understanding and predicting epidemics but also in monitoring of the evolution and spread of epidemic clones of C. diphtheriae . The PCR melting profile method presented in the study is a good alternative for C. diphtheriae typing.