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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 3984-3992, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.02834-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de Bellaterra-Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Received 2 December 2005/ Accepted 26 March 2006
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In 1992, Kielstein and Rapp-Gabrielson defined 15 serovars of H. parasuis and demonstrated differences in their virulence, with strains ranging from highly virulent to nonvirulent (24). Strain variability has also been revealed for other phenotypic and genotypic features (2, 3, 7, 8, 29, 32, 33, 35, 38). Since the pig is the only known natural environment for H. parasuis, this high degree of variation in virulence could be an interesting characteristic and might represent different adaptations to colonize and invade different organs of the animal. In agreement with these hypotheses, Oliveira et al. reported the association of serotypes 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, and 14 (and nontypeable isolates) with isolation from systemic sites and of serotype 3 (and nontypeable isolates) with isolation from the upper respiratory tract (35). Unfortunately, there is no clear correlation between serotype and virulence, and even strains belonging to the same serotype exhibit different degrees of virulence. Nevertheless, serotyping has commonly been used to classify H. parasuis strains, although for epidemiological studies it does not provide enough discrimination of isolates, and more importantly, a significant percentage of isolates are nontypeable with this technique. Although information on the genomic sequence of H. parasuis is limited, several groups have attempted to improve the differentiation of field strains by using different genotyping techniques. One of the few known sequences of H. parasuis is the 16S rRNA gene. 16S rRNA gene sequencing is appropriate for species identification and definition (17, 23, 40, 42). This sequence has been used successfully for the classification of the Pasteurellaceae at the species level (14, 30), allowing the differentiation of H. parasuis from other NAD-dependent Pasteurellaceae organisms isolated from swine, mainly Actinobacillus minor, Actinobacillus porcinus, and Actinobacillus indolicus. However, 16S rRNA gene sequences are usually not suitable for strain differentiation due to a lack of variability below the species level. Recently, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analyses using the sequences of tbpA (12) and aroA (13) have been proposed, but the application of these techniques does not provide sufficient information about the phylogeny between strains. Another approach to differentiating field strains is the use of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) (41). For strains of H. parasuis, ERIC-PCR fingerprints are highly heterogeneous, and although this method is useful for local epidemiology studies, in particular for assessing different strains circulating in a farm (35, 38), it has no practical application for global studies. In addition, results obtained using ERIC-PCR as well as those obtained by PCR-RFLP from different laboratories are difficult to compare. Thus, an improved method for global studies is needed.
In an attempt to find a more appropriate and reliable epidemiological marker for the classification of H. parasuis, we decided to use partial sequencing of the hsp60 gene (gene encoding the heat shock protein of 60 kDa, or groEL gene). We chose this method for several reasons. First, the results (i.e., the sequences) are easy to compare and reproduce among laboratories. Second, hsp60 is a ubiquitous gene (18), so it must be present in all strains. Additionally, Hsp60 has been demonstrated to play a role in crucial functions of bacteria, such as the pathogenesis of Legionella pneumophila (11, 22), the immune response to Helicobacter pylori (22), and the maintenance of the proteome of symbiotic bacteria such as Buchnera spp. (15, 16). Thus, it is possible that the natural selection on this gene could be different in strains with diverse virulence, providing additional information on the virulence of the strains. Finally, hsp60 of H. parasuis will probably have enough variability below the species level, as demonstrated with other human and pig pathogens (9, 18, 19).
Here, we evaluate the use of the hsp60 sequence as a molecular epidemiological marker for H. parasuis and complete the study of the variation in field strains by using previously described methods.
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View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Strains
used in this study, sites and countries of isolation, and sequence
types for 16S rRNA gene and hsp60 partial
sequences
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For identification purposes, the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. 16S rRNA gene amplification was carried out using 3 mM MgCl2, a 0.2 mM concentration of each deoxynucleoside triphosphate, 5 µl of extracted DNA, 0.5 µM forward primer (16S-up [5' AGAGTTTGATCATGGCTCAGA 3']), 0.5 µM reverse primer (16S-dn [5' AGTCATGAATCATACCGTGGTA 3']), and 1.5 U EcoTaq polymerase (Ecogen, Madrid, Spain) in a 50-µl reaction mix.
The hsp60 amplicon was obtained with universal degenerate primers for hsp60 by following a previously published protocol (18), with some modifications. The standard PCR mixture for hsp60 contained 1.5 mM MgCl2, a 0.2 mM concentration of each deoxynucleoside triphosphate, a 0.5 µM concentration of each universal primer, 1.5 U EcoTaq polymerase (Ecogen, Madrid, Spain), and 5 µl of extracted DNA in a 50-µl reaction volume. Amplification was performed for 35 cycles with an annealing temperature of 50°C.
The hsp60 and 16S rRNA gene amplicons were sequenced using a BigDye Terminator v.3.1 kit and an ABI 3100 DNA sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) with the same PCR primers and additional internal primers for the 16S rRNA gene (16SI1 [5' TTGACGTTAGTCACAGAAG 3'], 16SI2 [5' TTCGGTATTCCTCCACATC 3'], 16SI3 [5' TAACGTGATAAATCGACCG 3'], and 16SI4 [5' TTCACAACACGAGCTGAC 3']). For identification purposes, sequence database searches were performed using programs based on the BLAST algorithm (1). Both the NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST) and Ribosomal Database Project (http://rdp.cme.msu.edu) databases were searched.
For ERIC-PCR, purified DNA was quantified by spectrometry, and 100 ng was used as a template. The technique was performed by following a previously published protocol (35), including an extra final extension step of 20 min. Aliquots of 5 µl of PCR product were analyzed by electrophoresis (70 V, 3 h) in a 2% agarose gel. Band patterns were visualized by staining with a 1:10,000 dilution of SYBR gold (Invitrogen S.A., Barcelona, Spain) in 50 mM Tris and 5 mM EDTA buffer (pH 7.4) for 30 min. For normalization purposes, outer lanes contained a Superladder-Mid1 dsDNA marker kit (Eurogentec, Liege, Belgium). Images of the gel were captured with a Bio-Rad (Barcelona, Spain) transilluminator and stored as TIFF files for further analysis. Bands of 100 to 4,000 bp were used in the analysis.
Data analysis.
ERIC-PCR fingerprint analysis,
sequence editing and analysis, and similarity matrix calculations were
carried out using Fingerprinting II v3.0 software (Bio-Rad).
Phylogenetic studies were carried out using the MEGA2 program
(27).
ERIC-PCR band patterns were normalized, and Pearson correlation similarity matrixes were calculated. Cluster analysis of ERIC-PCR fingerprints was performed by the unweighted-pair group method using average linkages (UPGMA) as previously recommended (37). Maximum parsimony and neighbor-joining (using the Kimura two-parameter model) consensus trees for hsp60 and 16S rRNA gene partial sequences were constructed with 1,000 bootstrap values, and branches supported by bootstrap values of <50% were collapsed (5, 20).
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![]() View larger version (9K): [in a new window] |
FIG.1. Neighbor-joining
consensus tree for H. parasuis 16S rRNA gene partial sequences
(1,000 bootstraps). The numbers in the nodes indicate the percentages
of branching occurrences in 1,000
runs.
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) was 0.05. Figure
2 shows the neighbor-joining consensus tree for the
sequences. Congruence, calculated as the Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficient, between the 16S rRNA gene and hsp60
neighbor-joining trees was 75%. hsp60 sequences grouped all
H. parasuis strains in one monophyletic cluster supported by a
99% bootstrap value. Unexpectedly, the following three strains
previously classified as Actinobacillus by 16S rRNA gene
sequencing were also included in the H. parasuis cluster:
A. indolicus reference strain 37E3 and A. minor
isolates 49 and 2134 (Fig.
1 and
2). Cluster 1 (Fig.
2) included field
isolates, mainly clinical isolates, and virulent reference strains
SW140, Nagasaki, 84-15995, and H367. Cluster 2 (Fig.
2) was structured in
seven internal branches and included the majority of field isolates and
reference strains 84-22311, SW124, C5, H465, D74, 174, 4, and SW114.
The second cluster also contained isolate A. minor
49.
![]() View larger version (9K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Neighbor-joining
consensus tree for H. parasuis hsp60 partial sequences (1,000
bootstraps). The numbers in the nodes indicate the percentages of
branching occurrences in 1,000
runs.
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ERIC-PCR fingerprints.
We further compared our data with the
previously described ERIC-PCR method for H. parasuis. ERIC-PCR
patterns for H. parasuis isolates were highly heterogeneous,
and sometimes no common band between different fingerprints could be
found. After curve-based Pearson correlation similarity matrix
calculation, ERIC-PCR fingerprints led to similarities ranging from 0
to 99.07%. ERIC-PCR fingerprints were more variable and led to less
similarity than both hsp60 and 16S rRNA gene sequences. After
the UPGMA tree was built, 10 different clusters were defined (I to X)
(Fig. 3). Cluster I contained nasal isolates from three different farms in Spain
and reference strain 4. Cluster II contained nasal and lung isolates
and five reference strains (C5, D74, SW114, SW140, and 84-15995).
Clusters III, IV, and V contained isolates from different origins
(Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, and Argentina) and several isolates
from diseased animals. Reference strain H367 was included in
cluster III, and strain 174 was included in cluster V. Notably, cluster
VI was formed mainly by virulent reference strains Nagasaki,
84-22113, and SW124 and by isolates from diseased animals. Only the
nonvirulent reference strain H465 and nasal isolate IQ8N-6 were also
included in cluster VI. Cluster VII was formed by four clinical
isolates from Spain, the United Kingdom, and Argentina. Clusters IX and
X were mainly nasal isolates from the same
farm.
![]() View larger version (16K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. UPGMA
tree of ERIC-PCR fingerprints for H. parasuis
strains.
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As we expected, sequencing of the hsp60 fragment gave a high level of variation among the strains examined in the study, providing more resolution below the species level than the 16S rRNA gene. The hsp60 sequences were more variable and had fewer pairwise similarities than the 16S rRNA gene sequences, i.e., even though the 16S rRNA gene sequences were longer, they provided a smaller number of alleles than the partial hsp60 sequences. In addition, partial sequencing of hsp60 is less labor-intensive, and in contrast to the case for serotyping, all strains could be typed. Additionally, sequences are easy to compare among different laboratories. All of these features make this method suitable for the unequivocal characterization of H. parasuis strains for global epidemiology.
As mentioned before, ERIC-PCR patterns were highly heterogeneous. ERIC-PCR fingerprints were useful for the discrimination of closely related isolates (i.e., to determine if isolates from the same farm or animal were in fact the same or different strains), but they were too diverse to find relationships between more distant isolates. On the other hand, some clusters of ERIC-PCR fingerprints grouped strains from different countries. This may indicate either that some strains have a very ubiquitous distribution or that the genomic rearrangements producing the fingerprints are entirely random. Since the latter explanation seems improbable, we favor the first one, and it may be explained, at least partially, by globalized pig trading.
The study of strains by sequencing the Hsp60 and 16S rRNA genes yielded a distribution of the strains in several groups. Phylogenetic analysis of hsp60 and 16S rRNA genes led to monophyletic clusters for H. parasuis. Although there was not complete agreement between the gene trees, a clear subcluster of virulent reference strains and systemic isolates was defined in both analyses (cluster A in Fig. 1 and cluster 1 in Fig. 2). This cluster is of particular interest since it could be the first indication of the presence of a highly pathogenic lineage for H. parasuis strains. However, there were also some clinical isolates distributed in other clusters, pointing out the difficulties in reaching a clear conclusion using a monogenic approach. The study of the H. parasuis strains with hsp60 sequences showed two separate clusters (clusters 1 and 2 in Fig. 2). Cluster 1 included several virulent reference strains, and cluster 2 included the majority of H. parasuis strains, showing a clear structure in seven branches. Some disagreements in the topologies of the two trees (16S rRNA gene and hsp60 trees) were detected, involving H. parasuis, A. indolicus, and A. minor strains. This could be due to recent divergence between H. parasuis, A. indolicus, and A. minor (14, 25, 30) or could constitute an indication of horizontal transfer of genes between H. parasuis and Actinobacillus strains. In agreement with the latter explanation, the sequence of the hsp60 gene from A. minor 49 showed a high level of identity (98.15%) with the corresponding gene from H. parasuis ME4. In addition, there were other strains that changed positions between the two trees. This was the case for strains 230/03, 264/99, and 66/04-8, among others. In fact, one of the reasons for phylogenetic tree topology disagreements, unexpected similarities, and unusual phyletic patterns is lateral gene transfer between strains (26). Additional pieces of information that support the idea of lateral gene transfer between these strains are that natural transformation was recently described for H. parasuis (6) and that putative USS could be detected in Actinobacillus and Haemophilus species. Also, a native plasmid has been isolated from H. parasuis (28) which is related to a plasmid found in A. pleuropneumoniae. Thus, it can be hypothesized that these plasmids were also transferred laterally between these species.
Taking into account the large number of different ERIC fingerprints found, the different topologies of the trees, the presence of possible DNA uptake sequences, and the evidence of transformation in H. parasuis, genome rearrangements and lateral gene transfer could be ongoing phenomena in these strains. The presence of lateral gene transfer is noteworthy since it could explain why strains belonging to Actinobacillus species and classified as nonpathogenic commensal biota (10) are isolated from systemic sites in diseased animals. It is possible that those species, which are in contact in the respiratory tract of the pig, share virulence genes.
The large number of strains included in the study and the use of three different markers provided insight into the diversity of H. parasuis. The large numbers of 16S rRNA gene and hsp60 STs found for H. parasuis (30 and 36 STs, respectively) and the ERIC-PCR patterns indicate that H. parasuis is a very heterogeneous species, with a high level of diversity and no clear predominance of a specific ST. The presence of a high level of heterogeneity within this species was already suspected since there are many serologically nontypeable strains and because of the lack of cross-immunization between strains (36).
Although some STs were only found among clinical isolates, no clear relationship between 16S rRNA gene or hsp60 partial sequences or ERIC-PCR fingerprints and the site of isolation (organ or tissue), virulence, or geographical origin was found.
In conclusion, hsp60 sequences can be used as an epidemiological marker for H. parasuis and represent a good alternative to fingerprinting approaches. The possibility of developing molecular diagnostic tools with this sequence, as proposed for other species (18, 19, 43), seems not to be feasible due to the possibility of lateral gene transfer between H. parasuis and related species. In addition, although H. parasuis isolates were clearly monophyletic by their 16S rRNA gene sequences, the bootstrap values were generally low. Thus, other multigenic approaches would be needed in order to clarify the taxonomy of this group of species and to determine the incidence of lateral gene transfer, if any, between isolates.
. . .
This work was supported by grant AGL2004-07349 from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain. Fellowship support for A.O. from CReSA is also acknowledged.
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