Population-Based Analysis of Invasive Nontypeable Pneumococci Reveals That Most Have Defective Capsule Synthesis Genes

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097825
• Publication Date: 2014-05-15T20:55:43Z
• Authors: In Ho Park; K. Aaron Geno; Logan K. Sherwood; Moon H. Nahm; Bernard Beall
• Keywords: Multilocus sequence typing; Carriage; Pneumococcal infections

Since nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococcus precedes invasive pneumococcal disease, characteristics isolates could be incorrectly assumed to reflect those isolates. While most pneumococci express a capsular polysaccharide, nontypeable are sometimes isolated. Carriage nontypeables tend encode novel surface proteins in place polysaccharide synthetic locus, the cps locus. In contrast, is believed indispensable for and from population-based disease surveillance have not been extensively characterized. We received 14,328 through Active Bacterial Core program during 2006–2009. Isolates that were by Quellung serotyping characterized PCR serotyping, sequence analyses multilocus typing. Eighty-eight Quellung-nontypeable (0.61%). Of these, 79 (89.8%) contained loci. Twenty-two exhibited serotype 8 loci with defects, primarily within wchA. Six remaining nine previously-described aliB homologs Multilocus typing revealed lacked biosynthetic genes related established non-encapsulated lineages. Thus, caused remains rare United States, while lacking frequently isolated, such extremely disease. Most possess defective locus genes, an over-representation variants.