OPTIMIZATION OF A PCR-BASED ASSAY FOR FINGERPRINTING MICROORGANISMS

Genomic fingerprints generated by the amplification of polymorphic DNA with single primers of random nucleotide composition can be used for the differentiation of microorganisms. Single primers which had alread y been used for different purposes by other authors were tested in a P CR approach. The PCR protocol was optimized with regard to primer conc entration, annealing temperature, and number of cycles. This optimized PCR assay could be applied to fingerprint strains of different bacter ial and fungal pathogens.