Evaluation of four molecular typing methodologies as tools for determining taxonomy relations and for identifying species among Yersinia isolates.

In the last few decades, molecular typing has become an important tool in taxonomic, phylogenetic and identification studies of numerous groups of bacteria, including the yersiniae. In this study, Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR), Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), 16S rRNA gene sequencing and Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) were performed to determine the ability of these techniques to be used in taxonomy and identification of Yersinia strains. A total of 60 Yersinia strains were genotyped by ERIC-PCR and PFGE. Moreover, an in silico analysis was carried out for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and MLSA, using 68 and 49 Yersinia strains, respectively. A phylogenetic tree constructed from the ERIC-PCR, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and MLSA data grouped most of the Yersinia species into distinct species-specific clusters. In the PFGE assay these clusters were not observed. On this basis, ERIC-PCR, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and MLSA seem to be valuable techniques for use in taxonomic and identification studies of the genus Yersinia, whereas PFGE does not. Furthermore, ERIC-PCR has the advantage of being a cheaper, easier and faster assay than 16S rRNA gene sequencing or MLSA, and for these reasons can be considerate an alternative tool in taxonomic studies of yersiniae.