Genetic analysis of turbot pathogenic Streptococcus parauberis strains by ribotyping and random amplified polymorphic DNA

Ribotyping and RAPD profiling of a collection of 18 Streptococcus parauberi s strains isolated from diseased turbot in Galicia (NW Spain) was performed in order to analyze the possible genetic variability within this bacterial fish pathogen. In addition, the value of this technique for intraspecific classification and epidemiological studies was evaluated. Ribopatterns of D NA digested with three endonucleases and hybridized with a cDNA probe compl ementary to highly conserved sequences in the 16S and 23S rRNA genes showed a great homogeneity among the turbot isolates. Compared with ribotyping, R APD appeared to be a reliable and fast technique for discriminating between isolates of S. parauberis on the basis of their farm of isolation and, the refore, represents a powerful tool for epidemiological studies of this fish pathogen. (C) 1999 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Publi shed by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.