Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC)-PCR Analysis as a Trace for Burkholderia Pseudomallei in Myanmar
Abstract
Nay Myo Aung, Chanwit Tribuddharat, Narisara Chantratita, Khine Khine Su, Htet Wai Moe, Htin Linn Naing Soe and Khine Zaw Oo
Melioidosis is a potentially fatal disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is endemic in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar. The typeability of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR was assessed for 21 B. pseudomallei by using the results of sequence types (STs) of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method. Among 5 soil and 16 clinical B. pseudomallei isolates, it was seen that most of the major bands were quite similar in position but different in minor band formation. Therefore, ST 90 of two soil strains (Tontae_NMBP001 and Tontae_NMBP002) displayed the same ERIC banding pattern, while ST 56 of two clinical isolates (MMBP005 and MMBP010) exhibited a single type. Both of those two clusters were found to be the same ST in the MLST method. The shared group STs showed four or three satellite variants in the MLST scheme. One novel studied ST (ST 1729) was regarded as an out-group in the ERIC pattern. ERIC PCR demonstrated high discriminatory power, while MLST provided deeper insights into the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships among the isolates. MLST requires extensive sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, making it difficult to implement in resource-limited settings. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings. Despite its limitations, ERIC PCR represents a valuable and cost-effective alternative to MLST for molecular typing of B. pseudomallei in resource-limited settings.