The use of PFGE method in genotyping of selected bacteria species of the lactobacillus genus

Abstract

Bacteria belonging to the genus Lactobacillus are a group of microorganisms in which there are numerous strains with high probiotic potential. In recent years, interest in probiotics as nutritional supplements and as drugs has significantly increased. In order to carry out research on probiotic bacterial strains, their beneficial effects on the human body should be confirmed and molecular typing should be carried out with the aim of marking a specific strain. Pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is the reference method employed for bacterial genotyping, but it is commonly used for typing mainly pathogenic bacteria. The following study describes a way of performing PFGE analysis in genotyping of bacteria species belonging to the genus Lactobacillus : L. fermentum, L. gasseri, L. plantarum and L. rhamnosus.