PULSED FIELD GEL ELECTROPHORESIS (PFGE) IN Yersinia enterocolitica STRAINS ISOLATED FROM FOODS IN SAN LUIS, ARGENTINA

FAVIER GI, ; ISAGUIRRE A., ; LAZARTE OTERO V, ; LUCERO ESTRADA C,; SALINAS AG,; VELÁZQUEZ L

San Juan

Congreso; 2da Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biología; 2011

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) allows the comparison of genomic restriction profiles of strains belonging to the same bacterial species. In the present work, this technique was used to establish clonal relationships between eight Y. enterocolitica B1A strains isolated from different foods in San Luis, Argentina. The preparation of chromosomal DNA and its restriction with XbaI, were performed according to the PFGE protocol standardized by PulseNet (USA). Electrophoresis was carried out using a CHEF-DR III system (BioRad) at 6 V/cm at 14°C for 20 h with the following pulse times: initial time 1.8 s and final time 20.0 s. Salmonella Braenderup H9812 and Y. enterocolitica W1024 B2/O:9 were used as DNA size standard and as reference strain, respectively. The strains were grouped into two clusters A and B, producing five genomic types (GTs). Cluster A included four genomic types (GTs) where all Y. enterocolitica B1A strains with different serotypes where included. Cluster B included only the reference strain. Clusters A and B showed 68% similarity. PFGE demonstrated a high power of discrimination between strains of the same bioserotype which could contribute to the knowledge of the epidemiology of this bacterium in our region.