Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1990 Sep;28(9):2156–2158. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.9.2156-2158.1990

Hemagglutination properties of Streptococcus suis.

M Gottschalk 1, A Lebrun 1, M Jacques 1, R Higgins 1
PMCID: PMC268130  PMID: 1977767

Abstract

A total of 49 strains (23 reference strains and 26 field isolates) of Streptococcus suis were tested for their ability to agglutinate erythrocytes from different animal species. Ten different hemagglutination patterns were established. Thirty-three strains (67%) did not agglutinate any of the erythrocytes tested; sixteen strains (33%) agglutinated erythrocytes from one or more animal species. Different strains belonging to the same capsular type presented different hemagglutination patterns. No correlation was found between the tissue origin and/or the virulence (evaluated in 4-week-old mice) of different field isolates and their hemagglutination activity. Hydrophobic surface properties were also evaluated. All S. suis strains studied appeared to possess a hydrophilic cell surface. Morphologically similar fimbriae were observed on hemagglutinating as well as on nonhemagglutinating strains of S. suis. This study provides evidence that certain strains of S. suis possess hemagglutinating properties which do not appear to involve hydrophobic interactions. The possible role of fimbriae in hemagglutination remains unclear.

Full text

PDF
2156

Images in this article

2158Image
on p.2158

Selected References

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

  1. Beachey E. H. Bacterial adherence: adhesin-receptor interactions mediating the attachment of bacteria to mucosal surface. J Infect Dis. 1981 Mar;143(3):325–345. doi: 10.1093/infdis/143.3.325. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Elliott S. D., McCarty M., Lancefield R. C. Teichoic acids of group D streptococci with special reference to strains from pig meningitis (Streptococcus suis). J Exp Med. 1977 Mar 1;145(3):490–499. doi: 10.1084/jem.145.3.490. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Elliott S. D. Streptococcal infection in young pigs. I. An immunochemical study of the causative agent (PM streptococcus). J Hyg (Lond) 1966 Jun;64(2):205–212. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400040468. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gottschalk M., Higgins R., Jacques M., Mittal K. R., Henrichsen J. Description of 14 new capsular types of Streptococcus suis. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Dec;27(12):2633–2636. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.12.2633-2636.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Higgins R., Gottschalk M., Mittal K. R., Beaudoin M. Streptococcus suis infection in swine. A sixteen month study. Can J Vet Res. 1990 Jan;54(1):170–173. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jacques M., Gottschalk M., Foiry B., Higgins R. Ultrastructural study of surface components of Streptococcus suis. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jun;172(6):2833–2838. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.6.2833-2838.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jacques M., Roy G., Mittal K. R. Hemagglutinating properties of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Can J Microbiol. 1988 Sep;34(9):1046–1049. doi: 10.1139/m88-184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kurl D. N., Haataja S., Finne J. Hemagglutination activities of group B, C, D, and G streptococci: demonstration of novel sugar-specific cell-binding activities in Streptococcus suis. Infect Immun. 1989 Feb;57(2):384–389. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.2.384-389.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lindahl M., Faris A., Wadström T., Hjertén S. A new test based on 'salting out' to measure relative surface hydrophobicity of bacterial cells. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1981 Nov 5;677(3-4):471–476. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(81)90261-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sanford S. E. Gross and histopathological findings in unusual lesions caused by Streptococcus suis in pigs. I. Cardiac lesions. Can J Vet Res. 1987 Oct;51(4):481–485. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Touil F., Higgins R., Nadeau M. Isolation of Streptococcus suis from diseased pigs in Canada. Vet Microbiol. 1988 Jun;17(2):171–177. doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(88)90008-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Vecht U., Arends J. P., van der Molen E. J., van Leengoed L. A. Differences in virulence between two strains of Streptococcus suis type II after experimentally induced infection of newborn germ-free pigs. Am J Vet Res. 1989 Jul;50(7):1037–1043. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES