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Phenotypical Assays and Partial Sequencing of the hsp60 Gene for Identification of Streptococcus equi

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Abstract

Strangles is an acute and contagious disease characterized by inflammation of the upper respiratory tract of horses. The etiological agent of strangles is the bacteria S. equi subsp. equi, which belongs to the Lancefield group C. Opportunistic agents from the same group are frequently isolated from horses with strangles and may induce mistaken diagnoses. Among the subspecies of S. equi, the phenotypic features are almost undistinguishable; however, the pathogenic potential is widely differentiated. The aim of this study was to characterize S. equi isolates obtained from clinical samples of strangles by phenotypic tests and to analyze the partial sequences obtained from fragments of the hsp60 gene. In this work, 26 strains of Streptococcus spp. isolated from horse clinical samples were analyzed. By phenotypical assays, 18 were characterized as S. equi subsp. equi, five as S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus, two as S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis, and one as Streptococcus sp. However 21 isolates were identified as S. equi subsp. equi and five as S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus by DNA sequencing. The sequencing of the partial hsp60 gene was demonstrated to be an alternative method to analyze and differentiate strains of Streptococcus spp. In addition, this method can be useful as a discriminatory tool for characterization of atypical isolates.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. Dr. Elgion Loreto from the Molecular Biology Laboratory (UFSM) where the sequencing analysis was performed, co-workers from the LABAC/UFSM where the experiment was carried out, and CAPES, FAPERGS for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Centro de Ciências Rurais, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Mariana Sá e Silva, Sônia de Avila Botton, Clarissa Barretta, Ana Cláudia Mello Groff & Agueda Castagna de Vargas

  2. Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Colegiado de Zootecnia, Petrolina, PE, Brazil

    Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa

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  1. Mariana Sá e Silva
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  2. Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa
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  3. Sônia de Avila Botton
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  4. Clarissa Barretta
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  5. Ana Cláudia Mello Groff
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  6. Agueda Castagna de Vargas
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Correspondence to Agueda Castagna de Vargas.

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Silva, M.S.e., Costa, M.M.d., de Avila Botton, S. et al. Phenotypical Assays and Partial Sequencing of the hsp60 Gene for Identification of Streptococcus equi . Curr Microbiol 54, 331–334 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0458-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0458-3

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