Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a technique used for the separation of high molecular weight restriction fragments from digested bacterial genomic DNA on a gel matrix by applying an electric field that periodically changes direction. PFGE has been shown to be the most discriminatory and reproducible bacterial strain typing technique available. It is considered the ‘gold standard’ in epidemiological studies of pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms. This chapter provides a detailed method for using PFGE in the genotyping of the opportunistic Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.