TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel one-step real-time multiplex PCR assay to detect Streptococcus agalactiae presence and serotypes Ia, Ib, and III
AU - Furfaro, Lucy L.
AU - Chang, Barbara J.
AU - Payne, Matthew S.
PY - 2017/9/1
Y1 - 2017/9/1
N2 - Streptococcus agalactiae is the leading cause of early-onset neonatal sepsis. Culture-based screening methods lack the sensitivity of molecular assays and do not indicate serotype; a potentially important virulence marker. We aimed to develop a multiplex PCR to detect S. agalactiae while simultaneously identifying serotypes Ia, Ib, and III; commonly associated with infant disease. Primers were designed to target S. agalactiae serotype-specific cps genes and the dltS gene. The assay was validated with 512 vaginal specimens from pregnant women. 112 (21.9%) were dltS positive, with 14.3%, 0.9%, and 6.3% of these identified as cps Ia, Ib, and III, respectively. Our assay is a specific and sensitive method to simultaneously detect S. agalactiae and serotypes Ia, Ib, and III in a single step. It is of high significance for clinical diagnostic applications and also provides epidemiological data on serotype, information that may be important for vaccine development and other targeted non-antibiotic therapies.
AB - Streptococcus agalactiae is the leading cause of early-onset neonatal sepsis. Culture-based screening methods lack the sensitivity of molecular assays and do not indicate serotype; a potentially important virulence marker. We aimed to develop a multiplex PCR to detect S. agalactiae while simultaneously identifying serotypes Ia, Ib, and III; commonly associated with infant disease. Primers were designed to target S. agalactiae serotype-specific cps genes and the dltS gene. The assay was validated with 512 vaginal specimens from pregnant women. 112 (21.9%) were dltS positive, with 14.3%, 0.9%, and 6.3% of these identified as cps Ia, Ib, and III, respectively. Our assay is a specific and sensitive method to simultaneously detect S. agalactiae and serotypes Ia, Ib, and III in a single step. It is of high significance for clinical diagnostic applications and also provides epidemiological data on serotype, information that may be important for vaccine development and other targeted non-antibiotic therapies.
KW - Capsular polysaccharide
KW - Early-onset sepsis
KW - Group B streptococcus
KW - Real-time PCR
KW - Serotypes
KW - Streptococcus agalactiae
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021681668&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2017.06.003
DO - 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2017.06.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 28669679
AN - SCOPUS:85021681668
SN - 0732-8893
VL - 89
SP - 7
EP - 12
JO - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
JF - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
IS - 1
ER -