DNA Profiling of Leuconostoc citreum Strains in Fermented Foods by Repetitive Element Polymerase Chain Reaction

To identify and discriminate the bacterial species at the subspecific level, rep-PCR is a reliable genomic fingerprinting tool. Fourteen strains of bacteria were isolated from different food sources, identified as Leuconostoc citreum using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and amplified using rep-primers (REP, ERIC, and (GTG) 5 ). Fingerprinting patterns generated bands in the range of 300-6,000 bp with REP, 150-6,000 bp with ERIC, and 200-1,700 bp with (GTG) 5 primers. In UPGMA dendrogram analysis, 14 strains were clustered into three clades (I, II, and III) with all the primers, thus differentiating them at the molecular level. The present study revealed the differentiation of L. citreum strains using rep-PCR.