title: DNA fingerprinting of isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from newborns and their contacts.
abstract: During a study on the epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus colonization in newborns, mothers, and hospital staff, S. aureus was isolated from 536 of 1,945 specimens. Ninety-three isolates of S. aureus from the three groups of individuals were included in a study to evaluate the potential of DNA fingerprinting for strain differentiation. The 93 isolates were also phage typed and their plasmid profiles were analyzed. Cleavage of DNA with BamHI resulted in 13 different DNA restriction endonuclease band patterns (DNA REBPs), one of which consisted of eight isolates whose DNA was not cleaved with BamHI. The DNAs from these eight isolates were easily cleaved with HindIII. The different DNA REBPs were stable both during in vitro and in vivo growth and allowed strain differentiation within phage groups or types. We could not show any strong association between DNA REBP classes, phage types or groups, and plasmid profiles. Of the 93 isolates, 27 (29.0%) could not be phage typed and 12 (12.9%) lacked plasmids. We therefore conclude that DNA fingerprinting is a powerful tool, in addition to phage typing and plasmid profile analysis, for strain differentiation of S. aureus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, A/S Telelab, Skien, Norway.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tveten
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ask
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hofstad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D010957:Plasmids; D013045:Species Specificity; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005819:Genetic Markers