title: Identification of Bifidobacterium species using rep-PCR fingerprinting.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of repetitive DNA element PCR fingerprinting (rep-PCR) for the taxonomic discrimination among the currently described species within the genus Bifidobacterium. After evaluating several primer sets targeting the repetitive DNA elements BOX, ERIC, (GTG)s and REP, the BOXA1R primer was found to be the most optimal choice for the establishment of a taxonomical framework of 80 Bifidobacterium type and reference strains. Subsequently, the BOX-PCR protocol was tested for the identification of 48 unknown bifidobacterial isolates originating from human faecal samples and probiotic products. In conclusion, rep-PCR fingerprinting using the BOXA1R primer can be considered as a promising genotypic tool for the identification of a wide range of bifidobacteria at the species, subspecies and potentially up to the strain level.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Microbiology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. liesbeth.masco@UGent.be
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Masco
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huys
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gevers
authors.forename: Leen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verbrugghen
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swings
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019936:Probiotics / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial