Comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and coagulase gene restriction profile analysis techniques in the molecular typing of Staphylococcus aureus.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and coagulase gene restriction profile (CRP) analysis techniques were used to analyze 71 Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from nine food-borne disease outbreaks. Twenty-two PFGE profiles and 11 CRPs were identified, with discrimination indices of 0.86 and 0.72, respectively. In addition, the variable regions of the coagulase genes of 39 isolates were sequenced and showed extensive identity, indicating that this is not an efficient alternative for the molecular typing of S. aureus.