ompA Sequencing and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Lymphogranuloma Venereum Cases in Buenos Aires Reveal New Chlamydia trachomatis Genotypes

Abstract

Since the Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) outbreak was first described in Buenos Aires in 2017, the detected strains presented peculiar characteristics. Our goal was to increase the understanding of the strains involved in the LGV outbreak in Argentina. We characterized the ompA gene sequences, using Sanger sequencing, of 88 LGV strains from 239 symptomatic patients in Buenos Aires enrolled between 2017 and 2019, and selected 20 C. trachomatis strains for further characterization using Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). Following the ompA gene analysis of the 88 LGV strains, we detected 43% L2b, 31% L1-like, and 26% L2. Among the 38 L2b samples analyzed, there were 7 distinct sequences, 3 of them not previously reported (L2bv12, L2bv13, and L2bv14). Additionally, we detected a strain with a new mutation (AM884176.1:g.59122A>T) found in the position defining L2 or L2b, proposed as L2i. Using MLST, five different sequence types (STs) were detected, including the ST2 (corresponding to the L1-like strains) and a new one (ST60). ST58 was associated with the concomitant presence of another STI and HIV. A high genetic diversity in C. trachomatis LGV strains in Argentina was observed in a short period of time, with a relatively low number of samples from a limited geographical area.