Evaluation of fingerprinting methods for identification ofHelicobacter pylori strains

Variation amongst strains ofHelicobacter pylori was examined by35S-methionine-labelled protein SDS-PAGE (Radio-PAGE), immunoblot and DNA fingerprinting techniques. These methods allowed discrimination amongst isolates and showed total correlation. Pig and baboon gastricHelicobacter pylori-like organisms were found to be very similar toHelicobacter pylori by both Radio-PAGE and immunoblotting, whereas aHelicobacter mustelae isolate was markedly different. TheHindIII restriction endonuclease digest patterns ofHelicobacter pylori DNA illustrated the considerable genomic variation of this organism. The Radio-PAGE and immunoblot typing methods both gave precise identification ofHelicobacter pylori strains, but Radio-PAGE was found to give higher resolution and represents a standardised universally applicable fingerprinting method forHelicobacter pylori.