| Summary: | <i>Streptococcus suis</i>, a Gram-positive bacterium, is an important swine and human pathogen, with serotype 2 being the most prevalent strain found worldwide. Deafness, meningitis, and death (in severe cases) are observed in <i>S. suis</i>-infected cases. Development of the ligands that can bind to <i>S. suis</i> with high affinity and specificity could be beneficial for the diagnosis and treatment of <i>S. suis</i> infection. Herein, the nuclease-resistant RNA aptamers based on 2′-fluoropyrimidine modification against <i>S. suis</i> serotype 2, strain P1/7, were established using the cell- Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX) technique. One of the aptamers, R8-su12, could bind to the <i>S. suis</i> target strain as well as other <i>S. suis</i> serotypes, i.e., 1, 1/2, 9, and 14, but not to other bacteria tested, i.e., <i>S. pneumoniae</i> ATCC 49619, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 25923, <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 25922, and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> ATCC 27853. Moreover, the R8-su12 RNA aptamer was also capable of inhibiting the biofilm formation of the <i>S. suis</i> target strain, making it potentially useful for the study of biofilm formation and the treatment of <i>S. suis</i> infection in humans and pigs in the future.
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