Diphthericin types, bacteriophage types and serotypes ofCorynebacterium diphtheriaestrains isolated in Australia

Abstract

A dipthericin typing scheme has been constructed using 441 strains of Corynebacterium diptheriae isolated in eastern Australia from 1962 to 1971. Ten types have been distinguished using seven strains of C. diphtheriae and two strains of C. belfanti as indicators of the diphthericins produced by the newly isolated strains. Strains grouped into types L2, L3 and L3a were found only in Melbourne and types L1 and L4 were predominant in Sydney. Type L5 strains were isolated intermittently throughout the period of study and were found in all eastern states. Numerical analysis of the characteristics of the strains suggests that associations exist between, on the one hand, diphthericin type and, on the other hand, bacteriophage type, serotype and biochemical activity.

Variation among strains ofCorynebacterium diphtheriaeduring an outbreak in a restricted environment

“…The findings of Gibson & Colman (1973) indicated that an association existed between the diphthericin type ofC. diphtheriae and other bacteriological characteristics used in the identification and typing of the organism.…”

“…Thus the zone of activity between producer strain FN and sensitive strain 1281 (Gibson & Colman, 1973) is always 35 0-37 0 mm., whereas the zone size formed between producer strain 201742FN/A and sensitive strain 201742 is 9 0-10 0 mm. It is notable that the zone size obtained with strain 201742FN/B as the producer and strain 201742 is the same size as the zone produced by strain FN and strain 201742.…”

“…Strain FN was inoculated diametrically across T.S.H.B.A. in the manner used for diphthericin typing (Gibson & Colman, 1973). However, in order to standardize the method as much as possible, 20 ml.…”

“…Since certain bacteriophages were not possessed by the author, some of the Mental Hospital strains were sent to Romania where they were tested by Dr Alice Saragea for their sensitivity to the bacteriophages numbered 25 to 35. Additional tests and the scheme for typing strains by their production of diphthericins were also described elsewhere (Gibson & Colman, 1973). Because of the large number of variants to be tested for virulence, the intradermal (Romer) method as described in Medical Microbiology (Cruickshank, 1965) was employed, but a few variants and all the Mental Hospital strains were tested by subcutaneous inoculation.…”

The use of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in epidemiological studies ofCorynebacterium diphtheriae

“…The biotypes were later subdivided using either serotyping, bacteriocin or phage typing or in some studies, a combination of all three (Gibson & Colman, 1973). There are however some disadvantages in using these methods.…”