Comparison of Whole-Genome Sequencing and Molecular-Epidemiological Techniques for Clostridium difficile Strain Typing

Samuel R Dominguez; Lydia J Anderson; Cassandra V Kotter; Cynthia A Littlehorn; Lesley E Arms; Elaine Dowell; James K Todd; Daniel N Frank

doi:10.1093/jpids/piv020

Comparison of Whole-Genome Sequencing and Molecular-Epidemiological Techniques for Clostridium difficile Strain Typing

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2016 Sep;5(3):329-32. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piv020. Epub 2015 Apr 23.

Authors

Samuel R Dominguez¹, Lydia J Anderson², Cassandra V Kotter³, Cynthia A Littlehorn⁴, Lesley E Arms⁴, Elaine Dowell⁴, James K Todd¹, Daniel N Frank³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora Department of Epidemiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora.
² Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
³ Department of Adult Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora.

PMID: 26407257
DOI: 10.1093/jpids/piv020

Abstract

We analyzed in parallel 27 pediatric Clostridium difficile isolates by repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (RepPCR), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and whole-genome next-generation sequencing. Next-generation sequencing distinguished 3 groups of isolates that were indistinguishable by RepPCR and 1 isolate that clustered in the same PFGE group as other isolates.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; next generation sequencing; outbreak investigation; pediatrics.

MeSH terms

Bacterial Typing Techniques*
Clostridioides difficile / classification*
Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
Humans
Molecular Epidemiology*
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Whole Genome Sequencing*