Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Nov 2008)

Enterotoxigenic and nontoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis strains isolated in Brazil

  • Karla R Miranda,
  • Mariana F Dias,
  • Priscilla LS Guimarães,
  • Renata F Boente,
  • Heidi Pauer,
  • Priscila Z Ramos,
  • Laís S Falcão,
  • Eliane de O Ferreira,
  • Ilana T Balassiano,
  • Livia Q Ferreira,
  • Joaquim dos Santos-Filho,
  • Geraldo R de Paula,
  • Eduardo NF Antunes,
  • Katia ES Avelar,
  • Regina MCP Domingues

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0074-02762008000700018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 103, no. 7
pp. 734 – 735

Abstract

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The presence of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis and nontoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) among 109 strains isolated from 1980-2008 in Brazil were investigated by PCR. One strain, representing 0.9% of the total analyzed strains, harbored the bft gene which was identified as bft-1 isoform based on PCR-RFLP and sequencing. Forty-nine strains (44.9%) exhibited the NTBF pattern III which possesses the flanking region required for pathogenicity island acquisition in which the bftgene is codified. These data reinforce the potential of B. fragilis as an emerging enteropathogen in our country.

Keywords