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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
An Allelotyping PCR for Identifying Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium
Published on: July 22, 2011
Molecular characterization of Cronobacter lipopolysaccharide O-antigen gene clusters and development of
K G Jarvis1, C J Grim, A A Franco
1Lab 3412, MOD 1 Facility, Virulence Mechanisms Branch (HFS-025), Division of Virulence Assessment, OARSA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 8301 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA. karen.jarvis@fda.hhs.gov
Abstract:
Cronobacter (formerly Enterobacter sakazakii) is a recently defined genus consisting of six species, C. sakazakii, C. malonaticus, C. dublinensis, C. muytjensii, C. turicensis, and Cronobacter genomospecies 1. In this study, MboII restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of O-antigen gene clusters, located between galF and gnd, were used to identify serotypes in Cronobacter spp. Seven O-antigen RFLP clusters were generated, including three C. sakazakii clusters, previously identified as serotypes O1, O2, and O3. The O-antigen regions of six strains with unique RFLP patterns, including two C. sakazakii strains, two C. malonaticus strains, one C. turicensis strain, and one C. muytjensii strain, revealed three O-antigen gene clusters shared among Cronobacter species. PCR assays were developed, targeting the wzx O-antigen polymerase gene, and used to screen 231 Cronobacter strains to determine the frequency of these newly identified serotypes.
