Type determination by PCR and Dot Blotting of Streptococcus agalactiae 1 Strains from Zimbabwe Revealed Distinctive Features of Surface - Anchored 2 Proteins 3 4

4 Rooyen T. Mavenyengwa 1 , Johan A. Maeland 2* , Sylvester R. Moyo 3 5 6 7 Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe 1 , 8 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s and Women’s Health, St Olav Hospital, 9 Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) 2 , Department of Life and Consumer 10 Sciences, School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA) 3 . 11 12 Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, St. Olav’s 13 Hospital, University Hospital, N-7006, and Trondheim, Norway. Phone: 00 47 72 55 71 79. Fax: 14 00 47 72 57 64 17. 15 E-mail: [email protected]. 16 17 Running title: Zimbabwean Streptococcus agalactiae, surface-anchored proteins 18 19