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Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus difficile 16S-23S intergenic rDNA: genetic homogeneity and

B R Berridge1, H Bercovier, P F Frelier

  • 1Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. bberridge@cvm.tamu.edu

Veterinary Microbiology
|February 13, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Streptococcus difficile, a fish pathogen, is taxonomically related to Streptococcus agalactiae, sharing 97.7% DNA sequence homology. This finding aids in developing new PCR detection methods for fish bacterial infections.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Microbiology
  • Aquatic Animal Health
  • Bacterial Taxonomy

Background:

  • Streptococcus difficile causes septicemia and meningoencephalitis in farmed tilapia and rainbow trout.
  • Previous research indicated S. difficile is a group B, type Ib streptococcus, similar to S. agalactiae.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To confirm the taxonomic relationship between S. difficile and S. agalactiae.
  • To develop species-specific PCR primers for detecting S. difficile in fish.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative nucleic acid sequence analysis of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) intergenic spacers.
  • Construction of species-specific PCR primers.

Main Results:

  • Identified 97.7% sequence homology between the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacers of S. difficile and S. agalactiae.
  • Successfully generated species-specific PCR primers.

Conclusions:

  • The high sequence homology supports the close taxonomic relationship between S. difficile and S. agalactiae.
  • The developed PCR primers are suitable for molecular detection and identification of S. difficile.

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