Distribution ofmip-related sequences in 39 species (48 serogroups) ofLegionellaceae

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Abstract
Summary: The macrophage infectivity potentiator gene (mip) fromLegionella pneumophilais a major virulence factor of the species. Thus,mip-detection by amplification has been proposed to assess the presence ofL. pneumophilain clinical and environmental samples. The distribution ofmip-related sequences within theLegionellaceaewas studied by DNA amplification usingmip-specific primers followed by Southern blot hybridization with an internal probe. Thirty nine species (48 serogroups) ofLegionellaceaewere screened in this attempt. Using this approach, sequences related tomipwere observed in 89% of the tested species including the most recently describedL. fairfieldensis, L. lansingensisandL. shakespearei. In several cases, cloning and sequencing of the amplified products confirmed the high levels of similarity between the sequence found in non-pneumophilaspecies with that of theL. pneumophila mipgene. This confirms previous reports thatmiprelated genes are widespread amongLegionellaceaeand therefore specific detection of the speciesL. pneumophilacannot be based onmip-targeted amplification.