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<abstract xmlns="http://eprints.org/ep2/data/2.0">Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) based on the 16S RNA, pduF, glnA, and manB&#13;
genes was developed for Salmonella, and its discriminatory ability was compared&#13;
to those of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and serotyping. PFGE&#13;
differentiated several strains undifferentiable by serotyping, and 78 distinct&#13;
PFGE types were identified among 231 Salmonella isolates grouped into 22&#13;
serotypes and 12 strains of undetermined serotype. The strains of several PFGE&#13;
types were further differentiated by MLST, which suggests that the discriminatory&#13;
ability of MLST for the typing of Salmonella is better than that of serotyping&#13;
and/or PFGE typing. manB-based sequence typing identified two distinct genetic&#13;
clusters containing 32 of 54 (59%) clinical isolates whose manB gene sequences&#13;
were analyzed. The G+C contents and Splitstree analysis of the manB, glnA, and&#13;
pduF genes of Salmonella indicated that the genes differ in their evolutionary&#13;
origins and that recombination played a significant role in their evolution.</abstract>
