What is Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST)?
MLST is an unambiguous procedure for characterizing bacterial isolates using the sequence of internal fragments from 7 housekeeping genes. The procedure uses internal fragments (~450-500 bp) of each gene, as they can be accurately sequenced on both strands with an automated DNA sequencer. For each housekeeping gene, the sequences present within a bacterial species are assigned as distinct alleles, and for each isolate the alleles at each of the seven loci define the allelic profice or sequence type (IST).
