OPTIMIZATION OF RAPD FOR FINGERPRINTING SALMONELLA

Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is proving to be a usef ul technique in stud!ling the epidemiology of microorganisms. The tech nique can be troublesome and time consuming to establish due to the es sentially empirical approach to optimization. By standardization of ce rtain parameters and use of a commercially available PCR buffer optimi zation kit, a particularly promising primer was identified and RAPD co nditions for a highly discriminatory and reproducible characterization of Salmonella isolates was achieved. In addition, a technique to obta in reproducible RAPD fingerprints of Salmonella isolates without the n eed to purify genomic DNA is described.