This microarray is based on the ArrayTube (AT) platform (Alere-Technologies GmbH, Jena, Germany) and allows the genotyping of P. aeruginosa strains using 13 informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at conserved loci, the fliCa/fliCb multiallelic

locus and the presence or absence of the exoS/exoU marker gene. [7]. These reference alleles are based on the P. aeruginosa PAO1 chromosome and are described to be informative with a frequency of > =15% for the rarer allele in the P. selleck kinase inhibitor aeruginosa population [8]. In contrast to PFGE-based fingerprinting, the discrimination between isolates based on PAO1- and non PAO1-like alleles represent a limit for performing phylogenetic analyses since these alleles are based on few core genome loci subjected to diversifying selection and mutation rate is not fast enough to investigate evolutionary relationships. Similarly

to MLST, which is based on housekeeping genes with high sequence conservation, the PAO1-based AT profiles are sufficiently stable over time to make the AT approach ideal for defining relatedness of isolates for epidemiologic purposes. In order to define the relatedness selleck chemical between genotypes, the eBURST algorithm can be applied [9], which divides bacterial populations into cluster of clones and potentially identifies the ancestral strain. This clustering algorithm is commonly applied to MLST data [9], but it is suitable to any typing method based on defined genetic elements [7, 10, 11]. Unlike MLST, which scans only genetic informative traits of the core genome, the AT multimarker microarray also analyzes the composition Adenylyl cyclase of the accessory genome through a set of 38 genetic markers, so defining the intra-clonal diversity and epidemiological gene pattern [7]. Moreover, the AT typing, as the MLST, produces a robust and informative genotyping identifying isolates to the strain level

and allowing easy and reliable data comparison between laboratories worldwide [12]. The ArrayTube has been already employed for molecular typing of P. aeruginosa populations isolated from various environments [13–17] and it has been shown to be adequate even when other typing techniques produced inconsistent results [18]. This work reports the molecular typing of an Italian P. aeruginosa clinical collection (n = 182), performed with the AT microarray, and the investigation on the virulence genes/gene islands correlating to the strain source (infection type or location). Data from a set of strains were compared with the PFGE and MLST methods, focusing on the adequateness for epidemiological studies. The prevalence of specific virulence genes from the accessory genome in the identified cluster of clones was defined. AT data of our local population on independent isolates (n = 124) were clustered according to their genetic similarity and analyzed together with publicly available P. aeruginosa worldwide AT datasets.