Serogrouping and Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA Fingerprinting of <i>Campylobacter Jejuni</i>

Abstract

Background: Thermophilic campylobacters are of worldwide significance in human and animal diseases. Sources of human infection remain mainly undetermined, but contaminated food, like poultry and row milk, are widely regarded as important vehicles of infection. Accurate methods of strain identification, differentiation and typing are essential for diagnosing and epidemiological purposes. Aim: The aim of our study was to determine the serologic and genetic diversity among the strains and to assess the discriminatory power of both typing methods in epidemiological studies. Material and Methods: Within a period of six months were isolated 26 strains of C. jejuni from faecal samples of children with acute gastroenteritis. Heat-stable specific antigen of C. jejuni was used for serogrouping of the strains by the reaction of passive hemagglutination. Purified genomic DNA was obtained and used in RAPD-PCR reaction. Results: Twenty one C. jejuni strains belonged to the following Penner’s serogroups: 8 strains were group A, 13 strains were group O. The remaining 5 strains were non-typable. RAPD-PCR analysis of 26 strains of Campylobacter jejuni yielded multiple amplification products in all of them. None of the strains processed by this method was non-typable. According to the number and sizes of amplification bands, 4 different genotypes (a, b, c, d) of C. jejuni strains were distinguished within 26 investigated strains. Conclusion: In this study we found that RAPD-PCR analysis provide better discrimination of C. jejuni strains than serogrouping by Penner’s method. Each of the three Penner’s antigenic groups comprised different genotypes. RAPD-PCR analysis of C. jejuni resulted in the generation of highly specific and reproducible DNA fingerprints that enable discrimination even between isolates of a single bacterial serogroup.