Abstract

Epidemiological investigations of bacterial infections are generally based on multiple phenotypic markers that are often difficult to verify. A more general and reliable method is genomic DNA analysis by restriction endonucleases. However, the commonly used endonucleases produce too many fragments for correct separation by agarose electrophoresis. In contrast, simple electrophoretic patterns are obtained after genomic DNA digestion by low-frequency-cleavage restriction endonucleases and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, making it easier to compare numerous strains from the same species. This technique was used to investigate an Acinetobacter calcoaceticus outbreak in a urologic department and bronchial colonization of artificially ventilated patients by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an intensive care unit. The method allowed a clear distinction between epidemic and self-contaminating strains in these different epidemiological situations.

Keywords

Restriction enzymeBiologyAgarose gel electrophoresisAcinetobacter calcoaceticusRestriction fragmentgenomic DNADNAGel electrophoresisPulsed-field gel electrophoresisAcinetobacterGeneticsMicrobiologyGenotypeBacteriaGene

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Year
1989
Type
article
Volume
27
Issue
9
Pages
2057-2061
Citations
140
Access
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A Allardet-Servent, N. Bouziges, M J Carles-Nurit et al. (1989). Use of low-frequency-cleavage restriction endonucleases for DNA analysis in epidemiological investigations of nosocomial bacterial infections. Journal of Clinical Microbiology , 27 (9) , 2057-2061. https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.27.9.2057-2061.1989

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DOI
10.1128/jcm.27.9.2057-2061.1989