Helicobacter pylori strain diversity was investigated in 55 H, pylori serop
ositive couples in Taiwan in biopsy samples from the antrum and corpus. Two
DNA typing methods were used to characterize 90 isolates from 25 couples.
In only 1 of the 25 couples was the same strain colonized from both partner
s, Comparison of isolates from 2 sites in each of 40 patients showed that 9
pairs were distinct but might be related, Peptic ulcer occurred in 77.8% o
f these 9 patients compared with 29% of 31 patients with the same predomina
nt strain in 2 biopsies (P =.025), Random amplified polymorphic DNA and seq
uence analyses of 2 closely related isolates from 1 patient support the hyp
othesis that development of genetic diversity of H, pylori results from hor
izontal genetic exchange during long-term colonization of mixed bacterial p
opulations.