Multilocus sequence typing (MLST): markers for the traceability of pathogenic Leptospira strains.

Leptospirosis is a major zoonosis with worldwide distribution. Conventional serological typing is arduous and time consuming. Genotyping is increasingly applied for the typing and identification of leptospires and contributes to genetic and virulence divergence and molecular epidemiological characteristics such as host versus leptospires population interactions and dynamics. Presently, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is the most robust approach. In this chapter, we describe the practical steps of two major multilocus sequence typing methods for leptospires. The first method (denoted as the 6 L scheme) is based on genotyping by phylogeny using concatenated sequences derived from six loci, including genes that encode outer membrane proteins and rrs and can be used for typing pathogenic species and strains of intermediate species. The second method (referred to as the 7 L scheme) uses seven loci on housekeeping genes and allows the analysis of seven major Leptospira pathogenic species. The 7 L scheme is web based and includes the option to analyze sequence types (STs).