Value of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR for study of Pasteurella multocida strains isolated from mouths of dogs.

Fifty-six Pasteurella multocida strains (40 P. multocida subsp. septica and 16 P. multocida subsp. multocida strains) isolated from the mouths of 56 dogs among the 134 living in a French canine military training center (132e Groupe Cynophile de l'Armée de Terre, Suippes, France) were studied by use of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. Both techniques showed genomic heterogeneity of the strains studied. However, RFLP was more discriminatory than ERIC-PCR for differentiating P. multocida strains. All but three pairs of strains were discriminated by RFLP, suggesting a limited circulation of strains between these dogs living in proximity. Although ERIC-PCR is easier and faster to perform, it cannot be recommended for epidemiological studies of P. multocida strains.