Streptococcus agalactiae or Group B streptococci (GBS) are a common cause of serious diseases of newborns and adults. GBS pathogenicity largely depends on genes located on the accessory genome including several pathogenicity islands (PAI). The present paper is focused on the structure and molecular epidemiological analysis of one of the GBS pathogenicity islands-the pathogenicity island PAI XII (Glaser et al. Mol Microbiol 45(6):1499-1513, 2002). This PAI was found to be composed of three different mobile genetic elements: a composite transposon (PAI-C), a genomic islet (PAI-B), and a pathogenicity island associated with gene sspB1 (PAI-A). PAI-A in GBS has a homolog--PAI-A1 with similar, but a different genetic constellation. PCR-based analysis of GBS collections from different countries revealed that a strains lineage with PAI-A is less common than PAI-A1 and was determined to be present only among the strains obtained from Russia. Our results suggest that PAI-A and PAI-A1 have the same progenitor, which evolved independently and appeared in the GBS genome as separate genetic events. Results of this study reflect specific geographical distribution of the GBS strains with the mobile genetic element under study.

D O Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology 199034 Mendeleevskaya line 3 Saint Petersburg Russia

Health Protection Agency 61 Colindale Avenue NW9 5EQ London UK

Institute of Experimental Medicine Pavlova Street 12 197376 Saint Petersburg Russia

Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene Albert Einstein Allee 11 89081 Ulm Germany

Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Universidade Nova de Lisboa 2829 516 Caparica Portugal

Saint Petersburg State University 199034 Universitetskaya emb 7 9 Saint Petersburg Russia

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center 1100 N Lindsay Ave Oklahoma City OK 73104 USA

WHO Center Reference and Research on Streptococci Srobarova 48 10042 10 Prague Czech Republic

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