Isolation and characterization of from environmental and clinical sources by culture and PCR-RFLP methods.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Due to the widespread distribution of in environmental and animal sources and serious clinical complications in human, this study was aimed to isolate from water and clinical specimens by culture and PCR methods and to investigate the presence of and virulence genes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Water and clinical samples of vaginal and fecal were screened for the presence of by phenotypic and standard biochemical tests. PCR amplification was performed on extracted DNA using primers based on the and genes. A 733-bp fragment of gene was used for investigation of polymorphism using RFLP analysis.

RESULTS

In total, 45 phenotypically and molecularly confirmed strains were isolated from different sources including 30 (16.7%) from water, 9 (11.3%) from vaginal swabs and 6 (7.5%) from fecal samples. RFLP analysis of PCR products using and restriction enzymes, generated two profiles with 8 to 10 bands ranging in size from 15 to 210 bp. The majority of water and clinical isolates were classified in profile 2.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated 45 isolates from tested water and clinical samples by phenotypic and molecular tests. The majority of the isolates were classified in the same RFLP profile, showing the water as a potential source of clinical complications in patients in the region of study.