Comparison of ITS profiling, REP- and ERIC-PCR of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates from Poland.

Thirty-one Salmonella Enteritidis strains isolated from chickens, broilers and hens were analysed by genotypic typing including REP-PCR. ERIC-PCR and ITS profiling (PCR-ribotyping). Analysis of DNA banding patterns generated by REP-PCR revealed the presence of 22 different genotypes, which were grouped by dendrogram analysis into three distinct lineages (maximum similarity approx. 50%). Each isolate of S. Enteritidis analysed by ERIC-PCR generated an individual DNA pattern. Again, these isolates could be divided into three distinct genomic groups (maximum similarity approx. 60%) by their ERIC-PCR fingerprints. REP- and ERIC-PCR were found to be more discriminatory for typing of S. Enteritidis than ITS profiling. Amplification of the 16S-23S rDNA spacer region gave nine different profiles of DNA, subdivided into two closely related groups by dendrogram analysis. In summary, data obtained by genotyping methods for S. Enteritidis isolates from regions located in the south-west and the central parts of Poland revealed an enormous heterogeneity among analysed samples, and proved that REP- and ERIC-PCR are highly discriminatory techniques, which can be used, in addition to conventional methods, in epidemiological studies of S. Enteritidis infections.