influenzae strains Rd (3358 bp) and 86-028NP (3333 bp) [39, 40]. Further comparisons of the lic1 loci between H. haemolyticus and H. influenzae [29] revealed that, in both species, the loci were flanked by the same chromosomal genes, contained licA α, β, and γ start codons

positioned immediately upstream of tandemly arranged tetranucleotide (5′-CAAT-3′) repeats, and contained licB and licC start codons that overlapped each preceding gene (data PI3K Inhibitor Library not shown). The LicA, LicB, and LicC amino-acid sequences for the two H. haemolyticus strains M07-22 and 60P3H1 were deduced and found to be 93, 99, and 95% identical, respectively, between the strains (Table 1). Amino-acid sequences comparisons of the putative LicA, LicB, and LicC proteins between H. haemolyticus and H. influenzae (strains

E1a, Rd, and 86-028NP) revealed identities that were somewhat lower, ranging from 87-94% for all comparisons GPCR Compound Library datasheet (Table 1). As mentioned above, three LicD protein alleles (LicDI, LicDIII, and LicDIV) have been described for H. influenzae. The LicD protein of H. haemolyticus strain M07-22 was 89 and 87% identical to the LicDI allele of H. influenzae strains Rd and 86-028NP, respectively, but was 95% identical with and contained a 3 amino-acid insertion similar to the LicDIII allele of H. influenzae strain E1a, suggesting that this H. haemolyticus strain possessed a LicDIII allele (Table 1). In contrast, the putative LicD protein of H. haemolyticus strain 60P3H1 averaged only 69% identity with the LicD alleles of H. haemolyticus strain M07-22 and the three H. influenzae strains (Table 1). BLAST analysis, however, revealed that it was

99% identical to the deduced LicDIV protein of NT H. influenzae strain R2866, suggesting that H. haemolyticus strain 60P3H1 contained a LicDIV allele. Together, these data suggest that H. haemolyticus possess lic1 loci that are very similar to the lic1 loci described for H. influenzae. Table 1 Amino-acid sequence identities between the LicA-LicD proteins of H. influenzae and H. haemolyticus   LicA LicB LicC LicD Strains M07-22 60P3H1 M07-22 60P3H1 M07-22 60P3H1 M07-22 60P3H1 E1a 87.2 86.9 92.8 93.5 89.7 89.3 94.8 68.7 Rd 86.9 86.9 93.2 93.8 92.7 92.3 89.4 69.4 86-028NP 86.9 86.9 89.7 90.1 N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase 89.7 89.3 87.2 68.3 60P3H1 93.3   99.3   94.8   69.1   Prevalence of lic1 loci in H. influenzae and H. haemolyticus As mentioned, the prevalence of the licA gene has been reported for a phylogenetically defined NT H. influenzae and H. haemolyticus strain collection [10]. We therefore determined the distribution of the remaining lic1 locus genes (licB, licC, and licD) among the same strains by dot-blot hybridization. The licB-licD gene probes each hybridized to three H. influenzae positive control strains (Rd, 86-028NP, and R2866), to 81/88 (92%) NT H. influenzae strains and to 46/109 (42.2%) H. haemolyticus strains. Four NT H.