DIFFERENTIATION OF CHLAMYDIA SPECIES BY COMBINED USE OF POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION AND RESTRICTION-ENDONUCLEASE ANALYSIS

To differentiate Chlamydia spp., a primer pair designed to generate a genus-specific region of the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) gene was used in a PCR to amplify a single DNA fragment of 245-259 bp. In t he PCR, the expected single DNA fragment was amplified from strains of Chlamydia trachomatis, C. psittaci, C. pnenmoniae and C. pecorum, res pectively. By restriction endonuclease analysis with AluI and PvuII, t he amplified products exhibited four distinct patterns, corresponding to the four species. It is, therefore, concluded that one-step PCR fol lowed by restriction endonuclease analysis as described in this study could be a valuable method for the detection and differentiation of Ch lamydia species.