Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1996 Apr;34(4):953–958. doi: 10.1128/jcm.34.4.953-958.1996

Sequencing emm-specific PCR products for routine and accurate typing of group A streptococci.

B Beall 1, R Facklam 1, T Thompson 1
PMCID: PMC228924  PMID: 8815115

Abstract

Rapid sequence analysis of specific PCR products was used to accurately deduce emm types corresponding to the majority of the known group A streptococcal (GAS) M serotypes. The study involved 95 M type reference GAS strains and a survey of 74 recent clinical isolates. A high percentage of agreement between M type serology and the previously published 5' sequences of the emm genes of M type reference strains was noted. The 5' sequences for six established M protein genes--the emm-32, emm-34, emm-38, emm-40, emm-42, and emm-71 genes--were determined to supplement the existing emm sequence database. Rapid sequence analysis differentiated serologically M-nontypeable strains and was used to establish the probable.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (224.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beachey E. H., Seyer J. M., Dale J. B., Simpson W. A., Kang A. H. Type-specific protective immunity evoked by synthetic peptide of Streptococcus pyogenes M protein. Nature. 1981 Jul 30;292(5822):457–459. doi: 10.1038/292457a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Colman G., Tanna A., Efstratiou A., Gaworzewska E. T. The serotypes of Streptococcus pyogenes present in Britain during 1980-1990 and their association with disease. J Med Microbiol. 1993 Sep;39(3):165–178. doi: 10.1099/00222615-39-3-165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fischetti V. A. Streptococcal M protein: molecular design and biological behavior. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1989 Jul;2(3):285–314. doi: 10.1128/cmr.2.3.285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GOODER H. Association of a serum opacity reaction with serological type in Streptococcus pyogenes. J Gen Microbiol. 1961 Jul;25:347–352. doi: 10.1099/00221287-25-3-347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hollingshead S. K., Fischetti V. A., Scott J. R. Complete nucleotide sequence of type 6 M protein of the group A Streptococcus. Repetitive structure and membrane anchor. J Biol Chem. 1986 Feb 5;261(4):1677–1686. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jones K. F., Fischetti V. A. The importance of the location of antibody binding on the M6 protein for opsonization and phagocytosis of group A M6 streptococci. J Exp Med. 1988 Mar 1;167(3):1114–1123. doi: 10.1084/jem.167.3.1114. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kaufhold A., Podbielski A., Baumgarten G., Blokpoel M., Top J., Schouls L. Rapid typing of group A streptococci by the use of DNA amplification and non-radioactive allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1994 Jun 1;119(1-2):19–25. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb06861.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. LANCEFIELD R. C. Current knowledge of type-specific M antigens of group A streptococci. J Immunol. 1962 Sep;89:307–313. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Maxted W. R., Widdowson J. P., Fraser C. A., Ball L. C., Bassett D. C. The use of the serum opacity reaction in the typing of group-A streptococci. J Med Microbiol. 1973 Feb;6(1):83–90. doi: 10.1099/00222615-6-1-83. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Musser J. M., Kapur V., Szeto J., Pan X., Swanson D. S., Martin D. R. Genetic diversity and relationships among Streptococcus pyogenes strains expressing serotype M1 protein: recent intercontinental spread of a subclone causing episodes of invasive disease. Infect Immun. 1995 Mar;63(3):994–1003. doi: 10.1128/iai.63.3.994-1003.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Penney T. J., Martin D. R., Williams L. C., de Malmanche S. A., Bergquist P. L. A single emm gene-specific oligonucleotide probe does not recognise all members of the Streptococcus pyogenes M type 1. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1995 Aug 1;130(2-3):145–149. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1995.tb07711.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Relf W. A., Martin D. R., Sriprakash K. S. Antigenic diversity within a family of M proteins from group A streptococci: evidence for the role of frameshift and compensatory mutations. Gene. 1994 Jun 24;144(1):25–30. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)90198-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Single L. A., Martin D. R. Clonal differences within M-types of the group A Streptococcus revealed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1992 Feb 1;70(1):85–89. doi: 10.1016/0378-1097(92)90567-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Whatmore A. M., Kapur V., Sullivan D. J., Musser J. M., Kehoe M. A. Non-congruent relationships between variation in emm gene sequences and the population genetic structure of group A streptococci. Mol Microbiol. 1994 Nov;14(4):619–631. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb01301.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Whatmore A. M., Kehoe M. A. Horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of group A streptococcal emm-like genes: gene mosaics and variation in Vir regulons. Mol Microbiol. 1994 Jan;11(2):363–374. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb00316.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES