RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPHISMS AMONG THE FLAGELLAR GENES OF THE LIOR HEAT-LABILE SEROGROUP REFERENCE STRAINS AND FIELD STRAINS OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER-COLI

Several typing systems have been described for Campylobacter jejuni an d C. coli, to assess the complex epidemiology of these important enter ic pathogens. In the present study two typing methods, slide agglutina tion according to the Lior scheme, and the demonstration of restrictio n-fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of flagellar genes, have been u sed in parallel on a set of 194 strains. This set comprised 118 sere-r eference strains of C. jejuni and C. coli of the Lior scheme, as well as 76 clinical isolates. All isolates were serotyped and subjected to PCR for amplification of flagellar genes, and the PCR product was rest ricted with Abu. I. Flagellar genes could be amplified in 152 strains. Among 85 seroreference strains, 74 different RFLP patterns were obser ved, and among 67 clinical isolates, there were 36 patterns. There was only limited correlation between flagellar RFLP and the Lior serogrou p, and the variability of patterns in serogroups HL2 and HL4 were as m arked. as the variability between serogroups. Flagellar gene RFLP patt erns are shown to be stable, highly discriminatory epidemiologic marke rs.