| Abstract: | Number of 60 epidemic strains of K. pneumoniae and 15 isolated occasionally from stool samples were tested for presence of 4 and 11 selected loci of the cps cluster of K1 and K2. Following open reading frames (ORFs): 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15 (gnd) of cps K2 strain Chedid and genes magA, gmd, wzc, wca of cps K1 strain DTS were searched by PCR in tested and reference strains O1:K1 A5054 and O1:K2 B5055. The ORFs 1 to 3 and ORF15 were detected in both the reference and epidemic strains as well as in the greatest majority of the occasional isolates. Thus, such ORFs were found K. pneumoniae cps common domains, while tested ORFs 4 to 14 were observed in strain B5055 and 11 epidemic isolates from patients of the same hospital ward. Only exception was a single strain O3 occasionally isolated from faeces. The tested genes of cps K1 were detected only in strain A5054 and in two O3 occasional isolates from faeces. Interestingly, these genes as well ORFs 4 to 14 were detected together in the appropriate reference and tested strains with only two exceptions. Therefore, the cps sector occupied by ORFs 4 to 14 was found as group-specific domain. The occurrence ratio of cps K2 group-specific loci among epidemic strains from infants was 18%, while the K1 group-specific loci were absent. |
