Molecular subtyping of Vibrio cholerae isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in Shenzhen from 1993 / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the genetic relationships between different Vibrio cholerae isolates in Shenzhen from 1993 to 2002.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Chromosomal DNA from 60 isolates was digested in seakem gold agrose with restriction enzyme Not I and plugs were then analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of V. cholerae isolates were clustered using BioNumerics software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>39 distinctive PFGE patterns were identified with each pattern having 20 to 30 bands. Most PFGE patterns were divided into cluster A or cluster B.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The closely related pandemic clone clusters of V. cholerae strains did exist in Shenzhen. PFGE of V. cholerae could be used for active surveillance and tracking for cholerae.</p>