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Background <p><i>Streptococcus parasuis</i> is an emerging zoonotic pathogen responsible for pneumonia, meningitis, peritonitis, pleuritis, nephritis, cellulitis, cholecystitis, sepsis, and arthritis in humans. The continuous increase in reported human cases of <i>S. parasuis</i> infection indicates its growing threat to public health and highlights the urgent need to monitor its epidemiology. The lack of high-throughput typing tools has seriously impeded the epidemiological surveillance of <i>S. parasuis</i>. Serotyping based on antigenic differences in capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) synthesized by <i>cps</i> loci is widely applied in epidemiological research and routine surveillance of various pathogens. In this study, the genetic characteristics of <i>cps</i> loci extracted from 259 <i>S. parasuis</i> genomes isolated from multiple sources were investigated.</p> Results <p>Among the 259 <i>S. parasuis</i> genomes, 142 genomes contained an intact <i>cps</i> locus, while the <i>cps</i> loci of 117 genomes were incomplete due to the limited length of the contigs. The intact <i>cps</i> loci were predominantly located between the flanking genes <i>SSU1210</i> and <i>SSU1209</i>. The presence of <i>wzy</i> genes in all <i>cps</i> loci suggests that CPSs are synthesized via the Wzx/Wzy pathway in <i>S. parasuis</i> population. Based on sequence alignment of the <i>wzy</i> genes, 109 putative serotypes were identified, 10 of which were associated with human infection. The products of the 2047 <i>cps</i> genes from these 109 putative serotypes were grouped into 870 homology groups, of which 79.66% (693/870) were serotype-specific, indicating substantial genetic diversity within the <i>cps</i> loci. Intraspecies and interspecies exchanges of gene fragments and entire <i>cps</i> loci were observed, contributing to the diversity of CPSs in <i>S. parasuis</i>. A <i>cps</i>-genotyping scheme was developed by using whole-genome sequences to align against a curated database of serotype-specific <i>wzy</i> genes.</p> Conclusions <p>The study revealed the genetic characteristics of CPSs in <i>S. parasuis</i> population and developed an easy-to-use, expandable, high-throughput <i>cps</i>-genotyping scheme. This study contributed to the evolutionary research, virulence assessment, and epidemiological surveillance of <i>S. parasuis</i>.</p>

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Developing a cps-genotyping scheme for the emerging zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus parasuis through genetic analysis of capsular polysaccharide synthesis gene loci

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月23日

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  • Xiyan Zhang,
  • Xueli Yi,
  • Jianping Wang,
  • Juan Li,
  • Nahuel Fittipaldi,
  • Wenbo Luo,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Chaoyuan Yuan,
  • Wenfei Wei,
  • Xuezhen Li,
  • Jinhui Zhang,
  • Marcelo Gottschalk,
  • Han Zheng,
  • Jianguo Xu

摘要

Background

Streptococcus parasuis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen responsible for pneumonia, meningitis, peritonitis, pleuritis, nephritis, cellulitis, cholecystitis, sepsis, and arthritis in humans. The continuous increase in reported human cases of S. parasuis infection indicates its growing threat to public health and highlights the urgent need to monitor its epidemiology. The lack of high-throughput typing tools has seriously impeded the epidemiological surveillance of S. parasuis. Serotyping based on antigenic differences in capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) synthesized by cps loci is widely applied in epidemiological research and routine surveillance of various pathogens. In this study, the genetic characteristics of cps loci extracted from 259 S. parasuis genomes isolated from multiple sources were investigated.

Results

Among the 259 S. parasuis genomes, 142 genomes contained an intact cps locus, while the cps loci of 117 genomes were incomplete due to the limited length of the contigs. The intact cps loci were predominantly located between the flanking genes SSU1210 and SSU1209. The presence of wzy genes in all cps loci suggests that CPSs are synthesized via the Wzx/Wzy pathway in S. parasuis population. Based on sequence alignment of the wzy genes, 109 putative serotypes were identified, 10 of which were associated with human infection. The products of the 2047 cps genes from these 109 putative serotypes were grouped into 870 homology groups, of which 79.66% (693/870) were serotype-specific, indicating substantial genetic diversity within the cps loci. Intraspecies and interspecies exchanges of gene fragments and entire cps loci were observed, contributing to the diversity of CPSs in S. parasuis. A cps-genotyping scheme was developed by using whole-genome sequences to align against a curated database of serotype-specific wzy genes.

Conclusions

The study revealed the genetic characteristics of CPSs in S. parasuis population and developed an easy-to-use, expandable, high-throughput cps-genotyping scheme. This study contributed to the evolutionary research, virulence assessment, and epidemiological surveillance of S. parasuis.