METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING SPECIES AND STRAINS OF LACTOBACILLI USING AN INTERGENIC REGION OF DNA PROXIMAL TO THE F1F0 ATP SYNTHASE OPERON

摘要

The invention relates to biotechnology, more particularly to medical microbiology, pharmacology and the food industry, and can be used for identifying species and strains of lactobacilli in different samples of human and animal microflora, as well as in pharmaceutical preparations and foodstuffs. The proposed method is based on using a novel genetic marker, namely an intergenic region upstream of the F1F0 ATP synthase operon, in order to identify species and strains of bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus. The method involves performing a PCR with species-specific primers (species identification) and determining the nucleotide sequence of the aforesaid region (strain identification). This method is significantly simpler than that based on 16S rRNA gene analysis: with respect to L. casei, L. plantarum, L. fermentum, L. rhamnosus, the species of these microorganisms can be determined on the basis of electrophoresis analysis of the PCR results without sequencing of the PCR products; trace amounts of bacteria samples can be used in the claimed method without DNA purification.