Evaluation of the biofilm-forming ability and genetic typing for clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-based PCR.

Biofilm formation is an important phenotype associated with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. In the present study, a total of 48 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from clinical specimens were examined for their biofilm-forming ability using a microtiter plate method. The different biofilm-forming abilities were demonstrated among the strains; however, most strains formed a larger biofilm than strain PAO1, a reference strain. The genetic typing was also carried out by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-based polymerase chain reaction. Although they were divided into five groups (A to E), most of the strains showing the higher biofilm-forming ability were found to be in groups D and E, suggesting a significant relationship between the biofilm-forming ability and the genetic group.