Amplified fragment length polymorphism and pulsed field gel electrophoresis for subspecies differentiation of Serpulina pilosicoli

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and amplified fragment length polym orphism (AFLP) were compared for their ability to differentiate between 50 porcine Serpulina pilosicoli isolates. Both techniques were highly sensitiv e, dividing the isolates into 36 and 38 groups, respectively. Due to the lo w workload and high capacity and sensitivity of AFLP, this technique is rec ommended for future studies of S. pilosicoli. S. pilosicoli isolates were g enetically diverse, and generally identical subtypes were only identified i n cultures from the same herd. (C) 1999 Academic Press.