Typing of Proteus mirabilis from clinical sources by computerized analysis of electrophoretic protein patterns

Abstract

Seventy-five strains of Proteus mirabilis (mainly of human origin) were characterized by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE of cellular proteins. The strains came from various countries; 24 were from urine, 17 from faeces (including one from a dog and one from a monkey), 12 from the respiratory tract (including nine from sputum), four from a cerebral abscess, 12 from miscellaneous sources and six from unknown sources. The protein patterns, which contained 45 to 50 discrete bands, were highly reproducible. The patterns of the 75 P. mirabilis cultures plus those of the type strains of six Proteus and Providencia species were used as the basis for two numerical analyses. In the first, which included all the protein bands, the P. mirabilis cultures formed nine clusters at the 85% S level. In the second analysis, in which the principal protein bands (in the 34.0-44.6 kDa range) were excluded, 74 of the 75 cultures of P. mirabilis formed a single cluster at the 77% S level distinct from the six Proteus and Providencia reference strains. The P. mirabilis strain which failed to cluster with the others had a background band pattern typical of the species in the lower molecular weight region but appeared to be less typical in the heavier bands. It is concluded that high resolution PAGE combined with computerized analysis of protein patterns provides the basis for typing clinical strains of P. mirabilis. Reference strains of each of the nine PAGE types identified are available from NCTC for inclusion in future studies.

Guidelines for the validation and application of typing methods for use in bacterial epidemiology

“…SDS-PAGE of cellular and extracellular components can give rise to highly discriminatory typing methods, with applications in taxonomy also [16,[131][132][133][134]. In the 1980s, these methods were applied to a variety of organisms, but since the 1990s they have been largely superseded by DNA-based methods.…”

Proteomics in the study of the molecular taxonomy and epidemiology of bacterial pathogens

“…The paper by Menelaos Costas 4, published in Electrophoresis in 1990, provides a methodological study on the use of protein analysis by 1‐D SDS‐PAGE for typing bacteria. The paper is one of a series of publications published around this time by Costas and colleagues that document this approach to bacterial typing (for example 5–10). The Electrophoresis paper from 1990 4 highlights the key features required for the success of using SDS‐PAGE as a typing method that are equally relevant to all methods of molecular typing, essentially that the method ought to be rapid but generate reliable and reproducible data.…”

Antimicrobial susceptibility and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) typing of Gram negative bacteria isolated from urinary tract infections in Mansoura, Egypt

“…The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of proteins analysis has been used widely in typing of many bacterial strains. Protein patterns offer considerable potential for typing bacterial strains of clinical interest, especially for species with other typing methods are not available (Holmes et al, 1991;Malik et al, 2003).…”