PCR AMPLIFICATION OF THE RDNA INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER REGION FOR DIFFERENTIATION OF SACCHAROMYCES CULTURES

The size of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as measured b y gel electrophoresis of PCR products, amplified by primers ITS1 and I TS4, was over 800 bp for all Saccharomyces sensu stricto species, but yeasts belonging to other Saccharomyces species had a shorter ITS regi on, making this characteristic potentially useful in the identificatio n of Saccharomyces isolates. The ITS product length was homogeneous wi thin the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae.