COMPARISON OF ARBITRARILY PRIMED PCR AND MACRORESTRICTION (PULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS) TYPING OF PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA STRAINS FROM CYSTIC-FIBROSIS PATIENTS

Arbitrarily primed PCR fingerprinting was carried out on 43 Pseudomona s aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Seventeen ma jor groups of strains that coincided with groups also distinguished by macrorestriction (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) typing were ident ified. Our results illustrated that a CF patient can carry more than o ne strain and can carry a given strain for long periods of time and th at strains can evolve by changes in drug resistance or other phenotypi c traits during long-term colonization. The arbitrarily primed PCR met hod is recommended for first-pass screening of P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients, especially when many strains are to be typed, becaus e of its sensitivity and efficiency.