ABSTRACT
Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the Legionella pneumophila Nagoya-1 strain, serogroup 4, which was isolated from a clinical sample from a patient with legionellosis. Several virulence-associated genes, including those encoding the type IV (Dot/Icm) secretion system and effector proteins, were highly conserved.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine the link between Campylobacter jejuni isolates obtained from chicken meat (n = 7) and gastroenteritis patients (n = 744). In total, 751 isolates were subjected to Lior serotyping. All the isolates from chicken meats were serotyped as Lior serotype 76 (LIO76). Among 23 of the identified LIO76 strains, 13 strains (6 from chicken meat and 7 from clinical specimens) were indistinguishable by Penner serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. These strains were isolated in 2 different Japanese prefectures in 2004-2005, suggesting that chicken meat is an etiological agent of Campylobacter gastroenteritis and that a diffuse outbreak occurred during this time. Therefore, a continuous surveillance program should be established in Japan in order to prevent Campylobacter gastroenteritis, especially large-scale food-borne outbreaks.
Subject(s)
Campylobacter Infections/microbiology , Campylobacter jejuni/isolation & purification , Food Microbiology , Foodborne Diseases/microbiology , Gastroenteritis/microbiology , Meat/microbiology , Adult , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Campylobacter Infections/epidemiology , Campylobacter jejuni/classification , Campylobacter jejuni/drug effects , Campylobacter jejuni/genetics , Chickens , Disease Outbreaks , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Female , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Gastroenteritis/epidemiology , Genotype , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Phenotype , SerotypingABSTRACT
Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a re-emerging infectious disease in Japan and many other developed countries. Epidemiological studies have revealed that the M1 serotype of Streptococcus pyogenes is the most dominant causative isolate of STSS. Recent characterization of M1 isolates revealed that the mutation of covS, one of the two-component regulatory systems, plays an important role in STSS by altering protein expression. We analyzed the M1 S. pyogenes clinical isolates before or after 1990 in Japan, using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE profiles were different between the isolates before and after 1990. Markedly different profiles among isolates after 1990 from STSS and pharyngitis patients were detected. Sequence analysis of two-component regulatory systems showed that covS mutations were detected not only in STSS but also in three pharyngitis isolates, in which proteins from the culture supernatant displayed the invasive type. The mutated CovS detected in the pharyngitis isolates had impaired function on the production of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SpeB) analyzed by 2-DE. These results suggest that several covS mutations that lead to the malfunction of the CovS protein occurred even in pharyngeal infection.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Bacterial/analysis , Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins/analysis , Carrier Proteins/analysis , Pharyngitis/microbiology , Streptococcus pyogenes/chemistry , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional , Histidine Kinase , Humans , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/analysis , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics , Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/physiology , Mutation , Streptococcus pyogenes/geneticsABSTRACT
To determine whether Ehrlichia chaffeensis exists in Japan, we used PCR to examine blood from sika deer in Nara, Japan. Of 117 deer, 36 (31%) were infected with E. chaffeensis. The E. chaffeensis 16S rRNA base and GroEL amino acid sequences from Japan were most closely related to those of E. chaffeensis Arkansas.
