Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae: a possible epidemiological aid.

In this preliminary study, the use of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as an aid in the characterization of Corynebacterium diphtheriae was evaluated and a standardized method was developed. The electrophoretic patterns of 17 gravis, 14 mitis, and 2 intermedius types of C. diphtheriae were compared with the electrophoretic patterns of 5 Robinson and Peeney stock gravis serotype strains. Each of the 5 stock serotype strains had different electrophoretic patterns, although some common bands were present. The 17 gravis strains isolated in the United States showed patterns identical to those of the stock gravis serotype II strain. The 14 mitis strains examined produced 6 different electrophoretic patterns, irrespective of geographical location. One mitis pattern corresponded with the pattern of gravis serological type II. The two intermedius strains examined had identical electrophoretic patterns that resembled the pattern of gravis serotype IV. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of C. diphtheriae strains may prove to be a useful epidemiologic tool in establishing the distribution and occurrence of various C. diphtheriae types.