MgpB Types among Mycoplasma genitalium Strains from Men Who Have Sex with Men in Berlin, Germany, 2016–2018

Abstract

Mycoplasma genitalium is a cell wall-less bacterium causing urethritis and other sexually transmitted diseases. Despite a strongly conserved genome, strains in clinical samples can be typed by different methods. To obtain data from the risk population of men having sex with men, we analyzed the typing region in the gene coding for the MgpB adhesin of M. genitalium first in 163 and 45 follow-up samples among patients of two specialized practices in Berlin, Germany. Strains belong to 43 different mgpB types emphasizing the diversity of the genome region. With respect to 133 types previously described, 27 new types were found. However, the majority of strains (64.4%) were assigned to types 4, 6, 113, and 108, respectively. A correlation between mgpB type and the occurrence of mutations associated with macrolide and quinolone resistance was not demonstrated. Investigation of follow-up samples from 35 patients confirmed the same mgpB and, additionally, MG_309 types in 25 cases. In 10 cases, differences between types in subsequent samples indicated an infection with a genetically different strain in the period between samplings. MgpB/MG_309 typing is a useful method to compare M. genitalium strains in samples of individual patients as well as those circulating in different populations

Antibiotic Resistance and Genotypes of Mycoplasma genitalium during a Resistance-Guided Treatment Regime in a German University Hospital

“…The investigation of resistance markers especially mgpB /MG_309 typing demonstrates on the one hand the possibility of the long-term colonization of patients (e.g., patient #19) with strains showing identical resistance and typing markers but also of patients becoming infected with genetically different strains during the investigation period. Depending on the sexual behavior, both patterns of colonization have been described in previous studies [ 20 , 21 , 33 , 34 ].…”

“…In comparison with the first sampling, the strain in specimen #1f showed the same genotype but differed in the occurrence of the mutation in 23S rRNA; in sample #7f, differences in the presence of MRAMs and in the mgpB -MG_309 type were found whereas the strain in #10f was identical in all available resistance and typing markers. As mgpB -MG_309 typing has been characterized as highly discriminating and stable in different studies [ 18 , 20 , 21 ], low-level colonization or sampling problems might be the reasons for the negative result of the intermediate rectal swab in the latter patient. Importantly, patients #2 and 5 received moxifloxacin in the period before the second positive test.…”

“…This was also shown in a recent study [ 27 ]. After the investigation of strains sampled between the years 2014 and 2016 in Dresden (31.6%) and between 2017 and 2018 in Berlin (38.6%), type 4 was also the most common mgpB type [ 21 , 28 ]. Furthermore, the results of reports from France and Spain demonstrated rates of type 4 strains of 23.8% and 27.8%, respectively [ 20 , 27 ].…”

“…Overall, strains in 58 first and 16 positive follow-up samples were characterized. Mutations in 23S rRNA and the parC gene of M. genitalium associated with a resistance to macrolides and quinolones as well as mgpB -MG_309 genotypes were determined by PCR/Sanger sequencing as described previously [ 21 , 25 ]. Nucleotide changes in a part of the 16S rRNA of M. genitalium were determined by a semi-nested PCR as reported [ 35 ] and using a new forward primer for the first amplification (MG16-1f, 5′-GCA ATG CCG CGT GAA CGA TGA AGG-3′).…”

The Impact of Selected Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Diseases on Pregnancy and Female Fertility

“…M. genitalium genotypes are determined on the basis of the mgpB gene. In the genotyping of strains from MSM in Germany, the most common types were 4, 6, 113, and 108 [ 26 , 27 ].…”