Multilocus Sequence Typing of Group A Streptococci Isolatedfrom Invasive Diseases in the Czech Republic in 2003

Overview

First results of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for characterization of 29 invasive Streptococcuspyogenes strains isolated in the Czech Republic in the first half of 2003 are presented. None of 16emm types detected among the study strains showed sequence type (ST) variability. The MLSTresults are indicative of differences between the strains causing serious diseases in the CzechRepublic and those isolated in other countries. In seven strains, four new STs with known alleles innew combinations, ST134, ST308, ST336, ST340, and one new ST with three as yet undescribed alleles(gki 91, murI 65 and yqiL 60), ST341, were described. These newly described STs were submitted tothe web-based reference MLST database for S. pyogenes.

Key words:
invasive group A streptococci – clonal analysis – MLST – streptococcus.