Direct PCR-Ribotyping of Clostridium difficile

Abstract

PCR-ribotyping, a method based on heterogeneity of ribosomal intergenic spacer region, is the preferred method for genotyping of Clostridium difficile. Standardly used procedure for PCR-ribotyping is culturing of C. difficile from fecal samples and subsequent typing. In this chapter, we describe a modified PCRribotyping method for direct detection of PCR-ribotypes directly in total stool DNA extract, without prior need to isolate C. difficile.