What defines a serotype?

Serotypes are groups within a single species of microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, which share distinctive surface structures.

How are serotypes determined?

The specific serotype of a microorganism can be determined by mixing samples of the microorganism with different samples of antibodies. If a mixture of the microorganism and antiserum cause clumps to form, the serotype can be identified.

Is serotype the same as strain?

That strain has demonstrably different properties from the human strain. There are other terms to describe viruses but they are more confusing than contentious, and they are not used universally. The term serotype is used to describe viruses of the same species that are antigenically different.

Are serotypes and strains the same thing?

Serotypes may be viewed as a further categorization of strains. This is because of the fact that strains of different microorganisms can also have varying antigens and thus a need to categorize this further based on these molecules.

What is a pneumococcal serotype?

Related Pages. Streptococcus pneumoniae are lancet-shaped, Gram-positive bacteria. There are 100 distinct serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The pneumococcal capsule serves as the target for current highly effective multivalent vaccines against this global pathogen.

How do I know if I have Salmonella serotype?

The traditional method to determine a Salmonella serotype is a phenotypic method, based on the WKL scheme (Grimont and Weill, 2007). The serotype is determined by agglutination of the bacteria with specific antisera to identify variants of somatic (O) and flagella (H) antigens.

Is a serotype A variant?

Serotype is a distinct variation of antigenicity of bacteria or virus with in species and subspecies. Serotype is a distinct variation within a species of virus or among immune cells of different individuals.

What does subtype mean in biology?

Medical Definition of subtype (Entry 1 of 2) : a type that is subordinate to or included in another type the blood group subtypes subtypes of a disease. subtype. transitive verb.

What is the best definition of a viral serotype?

A serotype is defined as one that either exhibits no cross-reaction with others, or shows a homologous:heterologous titer ratio greater than 16 (in both directions). From: Virus Taxonomy, 2012.

What are bacterial subtypes?

Bacterial subtyping determines the similarity between separate isolates of bacteria of the same species. If bacteria have the same subtype, they are more likely to be related to each other than if they have different subtypes.

Which is the best definition of the term serotype?

Definition of serotype : a group of intimately related microorganisms distinguished by a common set of antigens also : the set of antigens characteristic of such a group : to determine the serotype of serotype streptococci serotyped isolates from 100 patients

What’s the stereotypical family in the United States?

The American family is a rapidly changing institution. You may have grown up in the stereotypical American family – two parents and one or more children, with a father who worked outside the home and a mother who stayed home and cared for the children and the household.

Who was the first person to discover serotypes?

Serotypes were discovered by the American microbiologist Rebecca Lancefield in 1933. The immune system is capable of discerning a cell as being ‘self’ or ‘non-self’ according to that cell’s serotype.

Why are there so many serotypes of Salmonella?

Antigens are molecules that can cause an immune response when they enter the human body. Therefore, each of the over 2,500 different serotypes of salmonella has different antigens found on their surfaces. As it was just mentioned, antigens are molecules that can cause an immune response.