This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huey, B Articles by Hall, J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Huey, B Articles by Hall, J

research-article

Hypervariable DNA fingerprinting in Escherichia coli: minisatellite probe from bacteriophage M13.

School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley 94720.

ABSTRACT

Extensive restriction-fragment-length polymorphism was revealed in Escherichia coli strains by using a region of the bacteriophage M13 genome as a DNA hybridization probe. This variation was observed across natural strains, in clinical samples, and to a lesser extent in laboratory strains. The sequence in M13 which revealed this fingerprint pattern was a region of the gene III coat protein, which contains two clusters of a 15-base-pair repeat. Oligonucleotides made to a consensus of these repeats also revealed the fingerprint profile. While this consensus sequence has significant homology to the lambda chi site sequence, an oligonucleotide made of the chi sequence did not reveal polymorphic fingerprint patterns in E. coli. The strain variation revealed by the M13 and M13-derived oligonucleotide probes will be useful for bacterial characterization and should find use in studies of bacterial evolution and population dynamics. The findings raise questions about what these repeated sequences are and why they are so variable.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Vancanneyt, M., Lombardi, A., Andrighetto, C., Knijff, E., Torriani, S., Bjorkroth, K. J., Franz, C. M. A. P., Foulquie Moreno, M. R., Revets, H., De Vuyst, L., Swings, J., Kersters, K., Dellaglio, F., Holzapfel, W. H. (2002). Intraspecies Genomic Groups in Enterococcus faecium and Their Correlation with Origin and Pathogenicity. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 1381-1391 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gräser, Y., Kühnisch, J., Presber, W. (1999). Molecular Markers Reveal Exclusively Clonal Reproduction in Trichophyton rubrum. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 3713-3717 [Abstract] [Full Text]