Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug 15;81(16):5574-82.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.00277-15. Epub 2015 Jun 12.

Diversity of O Antigens within the Genus Cronobacter: from Disorder to Order

Martina Blažková  1 , Barbora Javůrková  2 , Jiří Vlach  2 , Sandra Göselová  2 , Ludmila Karamonová  2 , Pauline Ogrodzki  3 , Stephen Forsythe  3 , Ladislav Fukal  2
Affiliations

Diversity of O Antigens within the Genus Cronobacter: from Disorder to Order

Martina Blažková et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. .

Abstract

Cronobacter species are Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens that can cause serious infections in neonates. The lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) that form part of the outer membrane of such bacteria are possibly related to the virulence of particular bacterial strains. However, currently there is no clear overview of O-antigen diversity within the various Cronobacter strains and links with virulence. In this study, we tested a total of 82 strains, covering each of the Cronobacter species. The nucleotide variability of the O-antigen gene cluster was determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. As a result, the 82 strains were distributed into 11 previously published serotypes and 6 new serotypes, each defined by its characteristic restriction profile. These new serotypes were confirmed using genomic analysis of strains available in public databases: GenBank and PubMLST Cronobacter. Laboratory strains were then tested using the current serotype-specific PCR probes. The results show that the current PCR probes did not always correspond to genomic O-antigen gene cluster variation. In addition, we analyzed the LPS phenotype of the reference strains of all distinguishable serotypes. The identified serotypes were compared with data from the literature and the MLST database (www.pubmlst.org/cronobacter/). Based on the findings, we systematically classified a total of 24 serotypes for the Cronobacter genus. Moreover, we evaluated the clinical history of these strains and show that Cronobacter sakazakii O2, O1, and O4, C. turicensis O1, and C. malonaticus O2 serotypes are particularly predominant in clinical cases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Electrophoretic patterns of LPS from Cronobacter strains. (Left) Silver-stained DOC-PAGE of LPS patterns of the strains of genus Cronobacter. Lane 1, marker (Page Ruler Plus prestained protein ladder); lane 2, Cb28 (C. sakazakii O1, D); lane 3, Cb24 (C. sakazakii O2, B); lane 4, Cb05 (C. sakazakii O2, B); lane 5, Cb43 (Y); lane 6, Cb08 (C. sakazakii O3, I); lane 7, Cb26 (C. sakazakii O4, C); lane 8, Cb01 (C. malonaticus O2, M); lane 9, Cb55 (C. muytjensii O2, K); lane 10, Cb79 (C. muytjensii O2, K); lane 11, Cb78 (C. condimenti O1, N); lane 12, Cb53 (C. turicensis O1, G); lane 13, Cb73 (C. turicensis O5, F); lane 14, Cb75 (C. turicensis O5, F); lane 15, Cb71 (C. turicensis O3, A); lane 16, Cb59 (C. universalis O1, H); lane 17, Cb70 (C. universalis O2, P); lane 18, Cb69 (C. dublinensis O2, E); lane 19, Cb62 (C. dublinensis O1b, L); lane 20, Cb56 (C. dublinensis O1a, J); lane 21, Cb13 (C. dublinensis O4, Q). Corresponding serotypes and restriction profiles are presented in the brackets. (Right) Silver-stained SDS-PAGE of LPS patterns of the strains of genus Cronobacter. Lane 1, marker (Page Ruler Plus prestained protein ladder); lane 2, Cb43 (rough type of C. sakazakii O2); lane 3, empty; lane 4, standard of smooth type of LPS (E. coli E 0111); lane 5, standard of rough type of LPS (E. coli EH 100).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Iversen C, Mullane N, McCardell B, Tall BD, Lehner A, Fanning S, Stephan R, Joosten H. 2008. Cronobacter gen. nov., a new genus to accommodate the biogroups of Enterobacter sakazakii, and proposal of Cronobacter sakazakii gen. nov., comb. nov., Cronobacter malonaticus sp. nov., Cronobacter turicensis sp. nov., Cronobacter muytjensii sp. nov., Cronobacter dublinensis sp. nov., Cronobacter genomospecies 1, and of three subspecies, Cronobacter dublinensis subsp. dublinensis subsp. nov., Cronobacter dublinensis subsp. lausannensis subsp. nov. and Cronobacter dublinensis subsp. lactaridi subsp. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 58(Pt 6):1442–1447. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.65577-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Joseph S, Cetinkaya E, Drahovska H, Levican A, Figueras MJ, Forsythe SJ. 2012. Cronobacter condimenti sp. nov., isolated from spiced meat, and Cronobacter universalis sp. nov., a species designation for Cronobacter sp. genomospecies 1, recovered from a leg infection, water and food ingredients. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 62:1277–1283. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.032292-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kucerova E, Clifton SW, Xia XQ, Long F, Porwollik S, Fulton L, Fronick C, Minx P, Kyung K, Warren W, Fulton R, Feng D, Wollam A, Shah N, Bhonagiri V, Nash WE, Hallsworth-Pepin K, Wilson RK, McClelland M, Forsythe SJ. 2010. Genome sequence of Cronobacter sakazakii BAA-894 and comparative genomic hybridization analysis with other Cronobacter species. PLoS One 5:e9556. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009556. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holý O, Forsythe S. 2014. Cronobacter spp. as emerging causes of healthcare-associated infection. J Hosp Infect 86:169–177. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2013.09.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jaradat ZW, Al Mousa W, Elbetieha A, Al Nabulsi A, Tall BD. 2014. Cronobacter spp.—opportunistic food-borne pathogens. A review of their virulence and environmental-adaptive traits. J Med Microbiol 63(Pt 8):1023–1037. - PubMed

Publication types