Use of rep-PCR to define genetic relatedness among Bacteroides fragilis strains

Bacteroides fragilis, a component of the normal flora and an important anae robic pathogen in non-intestinal endogenous infections, has recently been a ssociated with enteric diseases. In this study, 41 B. fragilis strains were analysed in relation to their genetic diversity, This collection included two reference strains (ATCC 23745 and 25285), 20 isolates from non-intestin al infections, six from intestinal infections, five from intestinal microfl ora and eight from an aquatic environment. The fingerprints were generated by using two repetitive sequences (REP and EPIC) as primers to PCP (rep-PCP ), A dendrogram was obtained with the Taxotron(R) Program. Three clusters ( threshold genotypes I, II and III) were observed when the genetic distance was 0.30, These results confirm previous data found regarding the genotypic al diversity of B, fragilis.