DOI:
ABSTRACT
Arbitrarily primed PCR allows genetically different bacterial strains to be distinguished with great sensitivity and efficiency. We report that informative, reproducible arbitrarily primed PCR profiles can be obtained from Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains by using boiled stationary-phase cultures, without the need for time-consuming phenol extraction. This simple template preparation procedure should be especially useful in large epidemiologic studies when many strains must be typed.
