Evaluation of (GTG)5-PCR fingerprinting for characterization of enterococci isolated from bryndza cheese
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2005 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | A group of previously well-identified enterococci isolated from a typical Slovakian sheep-milk product bryndza were characterized by the (GTG)5-PCR fingerprinting in order to evaluate discriminatory power of this method for identification and strain-typing. Analysed group consisted of E. faecium (n = 76), E. faecalis (n = 25) and E. durans (n = 10) strains. They were sampled from two bryndza-processing manufactories during three monthly samplings performed successively (April, May and June) in 2000 and 2001. Isolated strains were characterized and identified by biotyping, ITS-PCR, ddlE.faecalis and ddlE.faecium PCRs. Species identity of representative strains selected from each (GTG)5-PCR fingerprint subcluster was confirmed by SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins. The (GTG)5-PCR fingerprint profiles obtained from E. faecalis strains were visually very close. Similarly, E. durans strains revealed nearly identical fingerprints. E. faecium strains were separated into two clearly separated clusters (30 % similarity), but both these groups were confirmed as E. faecium by all methods mentioned above. No clear correlation between locality, sampling period and obtained fingerprint profiles was revealed. Our results imply that (GTG)5-PCR fingerprinting is useful for their identification at the species level, but not a suitable tool for epidemiological studies nor for typing of enterococcal strains. This work was supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office by a research fellowship for P. S. obtained in the framework of the promotion of S&T cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe. |
| Related projects: |