Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and biochemical-serological assays
were used to characterize environmental and clinical aeromonads. On the bas
is of their biochemical characteristics, 31 strains were assigned to one of
the recognized groups or species within the Aeromonas genus and 11 differe
nt serogroups were detected. Low correlation between molecular and traditio
nal typing methods was observed. The results obtained showed that the genom
ic analysis performed by PFGE can be a more effective means for distinguish
ing between Aeromonas isolates than conventional biochemical methods.