A Lactobacillus helveticus-Specific DNA Probe Detects Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms in This Species

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Oct;58(10):3429-32. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.10.3429-3432.1992.

Abstract

A cloned 2-kb EcoRI fragment (fragment f) from a 34-kb plasmid of Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ 1094 was shown by dot blot to specifically hybridize to total DNAs of 75 L. helveticus strains. No hybridization was found with L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis, L. gasseri, or L. intestinalis strains. When Southern blots of EcoRI digests of L. helveticus strains were probed with fragment f, these strains displayed restriction fragment length polymorphisms on the basis of which they could be grouped into several clusters.