Identification and typing of pyogenic streptococci by enzyme electrophoretic polymorphism

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biochemistry
• Genetics

Background:

• Streptococcus species are significant pathogens requiring accurate identification.
• Enzyme polymorphism offers a potential method for differentiating bacterial strains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the enzyme polymorphism of six enzymes in various Streptococcus species.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of polyacrylamide-agarose gel electrophoresis for typing pyogenic streptococci.

Main Methods:

• Polyacrylamide-agarose gel electrophoresis was employed to analyze enzyme profiles.
• Six enzymes were studied: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nucleoside phosphorylase (NSP), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD), adenylate kinase (ADK), and esterases.
• Enzyme polymorphism was assessed across multiple strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, group G streptococci, S. equisimilis, S. dysgalactiae, S. canis, S. equi, and S. zooepidemicus.

Main Results:

• Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nucleoside phosphorylase (NSP), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD), and adenylate kinase (ADK) showed valuable interspecies differentiation, correlating with known DNA homology groups.
• Esterases exhibited higher intraspecies variation compared to other enzymes.
• A combined analysis of all six enzymes revealed 31 zymotypes in S. pyogenes, 14 in group G streptococci, and 11 in S. equisimilis strains.

Conclusions:

• Polyacrylamide-agarose gel electrophoresis is an effective technique for the enzymatic typing of pyogenic streptococci.
• Enzyme electrophoresis provides valuable data for both interspecies and intraspecies differentiation within Streptococcus.
• The study demonstrated the utility of zymotyping for bacterial strain identification and characterization.