Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of Streptococcus suis Isolates from Slaughter Swine

  • Published:
Current Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The characterization of 61 Streptococcus suis strains isolated from Chinese slaughter pigs was investigated. S. suis serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, and 1/2 were found in the isolates by serum agglutination. Of all the prevalent serotypes, S. suis serotype 7 is the most predominant circulating in Chinese slaughter pigs. The virulence-associated genes profile and multilocus sequence typing scheme of the isolates were analyzed. The mrp-/epf-/sly- virulence-associated genes type is the most prevalent in the isolates from slaughter pigs. It is the first time to find S. suis serotypes 7 and 9 isolates with epf. The serotypes 7 and 9 isolates with mrp and/or epf genes did not express MRP and/or EF in the present research. Thirteen new ST types were identified for the first time. ST1 complex and ST27 complex of S. suis are prevalent in China. This paper supplied information to understand the characteristics, such as capsular serotypes, virulence factors, and gene backgrounds of S. suis carried by slaughter pigs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Arends JP, Zanen HC (1988) Meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis in humans. Rev Infect Dis 10(1):131–137

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Boetner AG, Binder M, Bille-Hansen V (1987) Streptococcus suis infections in Danish pigs and experimental infection with Streptococcus suis serotype 7. Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand B 95(4):233–239

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chatellier S, Gottschalk M, Higgins R, Brousseau R, Harel J (1999) Relatedness of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 isolates from different geographic origins as evaluated by molecular fingerprinting and phenotyping. J Clin Microbiol 37(2):362–366

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. de Greeff A, Wisselink HJ, de Bree FM, Schultsz C, Baums CG, Thi HN, Stockhofe-Zurwieden N, Smith HE (2011) Genetic diversity of Streptococcus suis isolates as determined by comparative genome hybridization. BMC Microbiol 11:161. doi:10.1186/1471-2180-11-161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Fittipaldi N, Segura M, Grenier D, Gottschalk M (2012) Virulence factors involved in the pathogenesis of the infection caused by the swine pathogen and zoonotic agent Streptococcus suis. Future Microbiol 7(2):259–279. doi:10.2217/fmb.11.149

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Flores JL, Higgins R, D’Allaire S, Charette R, Boudreau M, Gottschalk M (1993) Distribution of the different capsular types of Streptococcus suis in nineteen swine nurseries. Can Vet J 34(3):170–171

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Gottschalk M, Higgins R, Jacques M, Beaudoin M, Henrichsen J (1991) Isolation and characterization of Streptococcus suis capsular types 9–22. J Vet Diagn Invest 3(1):60–65

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Gottschalk M, Higgins R, Jacques M, Mittal KR, Henrichsen J (1989) Description of 14 new capsular types of Streptococcus suis. J Clin Microbiol 27(12):2633–2636

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gottschalk M, Lebrun A, Wisselink H, Dubreuil JD, Smith H, Vecht U (1998) Production of virulence-related proteins by Canadian strains of Streptococcus suis capsular type 2. Can J Vet Res 62(1):75–79

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Halaby T, Hoitsma E, Hupperts R, Spanjaard L, Luirink M, Jacobs J (2000) Streptococcus suis meningitis, a poacher’s risk. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 19(12):943–945

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Haleis A, Alfa M, Gottschalk M, Bernard K, Ronald A, Manickam K (2009) Meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis serotype 14. North America. Emerg Infect Dis 15(2):350–352

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Han DU, Choi C, Ham HJ, Jung JH, Cho WS, Kim J, Higgins R, Chae C (2001) Prevalence, capsular type and antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus suis isolated from slaughter pigs in Korea. Can J Vet Res 65(3):151–155

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Higgins R, Gottschalk M (1990) An update on Streptococcus suis identification. J Vet Diagn Invest 2(3):249–252

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hill JE, Gottschalk M, Brousseau R, Harel J, Hemmingsen SM, Goh SH (2005) Biochemical analysis, cpn60 and 16S rDNA sequence data indicate that Streptococcus suis serotypes 32 and 34, isolated from pigs, are Streptococcus orisratti. Vet Microbiol 107(1–2):63–69. doi:S0378-1135(05)00016-7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim D, Han K, Oh Y, Kim CH, Kang I, Lee J, Gottschalk M, Chae C (2010) Distribution of capsular serotypes and virulence markers of Streptococcus suis isolated from pigs with polyserositis in Korea. Can J Vet Res 74(4):314–316

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. King SJ, Leigh JA, Heath PJ, Luque I, Tarradas C, Dowson CG, Whatmore AM (2002) Development of a multilocus sequence typing scheme for the pig pathogen Streptococcus suis: identification of virulent clones and potential capsular serotype exchange. J Clin Microbiol 40(10):3671–3680

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lun S, Perez-Casal J, Connor W, Willson PJ (2003) Role of suilysin in pathogenesis of Streptococcus suis capsular serotype 2. Microb Pathog 34(1):27–37. doi:S0882401002001924

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Nghia HD, Hoa NT, le Linh D, Campbell J, Diep TS, Chau NV, Mai NT, Hien TT, Spratt B, Farrar J, Schultsz C (2008) Human case of Streptococcus suis serotype 16 infection. Emerg Infect Dis 14(1):155–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Okwumabua O, O’Connor M, Shull E (2003) A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay specific for Streptococcus suis based on the gene encoding the glutamate dehydrogenase. FEMS Microbiol Lett 218(1):79–84. doi:S0378109702011278

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Princivalli MS, Palmieri C, Magi G, Vignaroli C, Manzin A, Camporese A, Barocci S, Magistrali C, Facinelli B (2009) Genetic diversity of Streptococcus suis clinical isolates from pigs and humans in Italy (2003–2007). Euro Surveill 14 (33)

  21. Silva LM, Baums CG, Rehm T, Wisselink HJ, Goethe R, Valentin-Weigand P (2006) Virulence-associated gene profiling of Streptococcus suis isolates by PCR. Vet Microbiol 115(1–3):117–127. doi:S0378-1135(05)00488-8

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Smith HE, van Bruijnsvoort L, Buijs H, Wisselink HJ, Smits MA (1999) Rapid PCR test for Streptococcus suis serotype 7. FEMS Microbiol Lett 178(2):265–270. doi:S0378-1097(99)00365-1

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Smith HE, Veenbergen V, van der Velde J, Damman M, Wisselink HJ, Smits MA (1999) The cps genes of Streptococcus suis serotypes 1, 2, and 9: development of rapid serotype-specific PCR assays. J Clin Microbiol 37(10):3146–3152

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Smith HE, Wisselink HJ, Stockhofe-Zurwieden N, Vecht U, Smits MM (1997) Virulence markers of Streptococcus suis type 1 and 2. Adv Exp Med Biol 418:651–655

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Staats JJ, Feder I, Okwumabua O, Chengappa MM (1997) Streptococcus suis: past and present. Vet Res Commun 21(6):381–407

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Tang Y, Zhao H, Wu W, Wu D, Li X, Fang W (2011) Genetic and virulence characterization of Streptococcus suis type 2 isolates from swine in the provinces of Zhejiang and Henan, China. Folia Microbiol 56(6):541–548. doi:10.1007/s12223-011-0077-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Vilaichone RK, Vilaichone W, Nunthapisud P, Wilde H (2002) Streptococcus suis infection in Thailand. J Med Assoc Thai 85(Suppl 1):S109–S117

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Wei Z, Li R, Zhang A, He H, Hua Y, Xia J, Cai X, Chen H, Jin M (2009) Characterization of Streptococcus suis isolates from the diseased pigs in China between 2003 and 2007. Vet Microbiol 137(1–2):196–201. doi:S0378-1135(08)00586-5

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Wertheim HF, Nghia HD, Taylor W, Schultsz C (2009) Streptococcus suis: an emerging human pathogen. Clin Infect Dis 48(5):617–625. doi:10.1086/596763

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Wisselink HJ, Joosten JJ, Smith HE (2002) Multiplex PCR assays for simultaneous detection of six major serotypes and two virulence-associated phenotypes of Streptococcus suis in tonsillar specimens from pigs. J Clin Microbiol 40(8):2922–2929

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Wisselink HJ, Smith HE, Stockhofe-Zurwieden N, Peperkamp K, Vecht U (2000) Distribution of capsular types and production of muramidase-released protein (MRP) and extracellular factor (EF) of Streptococcus suis strains isolated from diseased pigs in seven European countries. Vet Microbiol 74(3):237–248. doi:S0378-1135(00)00188-7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Xiong Y, Liu Q, Qin FY, Bai Y, Zhu W, Li HM, Guo JG, Qin L, Pan J, Long JM, Chen L (2007) Study on the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus suis type 2 from healthy pigs in Guangxi. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi 28(6):593–596

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Yao HC, Chen GQ, Lu CP (1999) Identification of isolates of swine Streptococcus in Jiangsu Province during 1998. J Nanjing Agric Univ 22:4

    Google Scholar 

  34. Ye C, Zhu X, Jing H, Du H, Segura M, Zheng H, Kan B, Wang L, Bai X, Zhou Y, Cui Z, Zhang S, Jin D, Sun N, Luo X, Zhang J, Gong Z, Wang X, Sun H, Li Z, Sun Q, Liu H, Dong B, Ke C, Yuan H, Wang H, Tian K, Wang Y, Gottschalk M, Xu J (2006) Streptococcus suis sequence type 7 outbreak, Sichuan, China. Emerg Infect Dis 12(8):1203–1208

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Yu H, Jing H, Chen Z, Zheng H, Zhu X, Wang H, Wang S, Liu L, Zu R, Luo L, Xiang N, Liu H, Liu X, Shu Y, Lee SS, Chuang SK, Wang Y, Xu J, Yang W (2006) Human Streptococcus suis outbreak, Sichuan, China. Emerg Infect Dis 12(6):914–920

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Zhang CP, Ning YB, Zhang ZQ, Song L, Qiu HS, Gao HY, Fan XZ (2009) Distributions of pathogenic capsular types and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of different serotypes of Streptococcus suis isolated from clinically healthy sows from 10 provinces in China. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi 30(3):235–238

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Zhang W, Lu CP (2007) Immunoproteomics of extracellular proteins of Chinese virulent strains of Streptococcus suis type 2. Proteomics 7(24):4468–4476. doi:10.1002/pmic.200700294

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Special Fund for Public Welfare Industry of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (200803016, 201303041 and 200903055) and the Fund for Key Technique Introduction of the Important Animal Disease Prevention from MOA (2006-G57).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, Qingdao, China

    Kaicheng Wang, Xiaocheng Li, Jiming Chen, Weixing Fan & Baoxu Huang

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Wei Zhang & Chengping Lu

Authors
  1. Kaicheng Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiaocheng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chengping Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiming Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Weixing Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Baoxu Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baoxu Huang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, K., Zhang, W., Li, X. et al. Characterization of Streptococcus suis Isolates from Slaughter Swine. Curr Microbiol 66, 344–349 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0275-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0275-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation