Evidence for a clonal origin of relative penicillin resistance among type 9L pneumococci in northwestern Canada

The relationships among capsular type, protein type, and penicillin resistance for capsular group 9 Streptococcus pneumoniae collected in northwestern Canada between 1974 and 1987 were examined. The group 9 relatively penicillin-resistant (RPR) isolates were of the rare 9L capsular type. Of 47 penicillin-susceptible (PS) group 9 isolates that were typed for capsule, only 1 was 9L. Among 29 PS group 9 isolates that were protein typed, 9 protein types were observed. Of the 70 RPR isolates, 51 were protein type P23, 1 was P19, and 18 could not be typed (P0). Protein types P23 differed from P0 by a single epitope on pneumococcal surface protein A. These results suggest that the Canadian P23 and P0 capsular group 9 isolates are likely subclones of a primordial 9L RPR strain.