Comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and ribotyping for subtyping of Vibrio cholerae O139 isolated in Thailand

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of Cpo I-digested genomic DNA and ribotyping (Bgl I) were applied to 60 Vibrio cholerae strains including 48 V. cholerae O139 from Thailand to compare their value in differentiating strains of the present V. cholerae O139 epidemic. PFGE patterns were divided into groups A and B representing five and four subtypes, respectively, while ribotyping showed four different patterns. PFGE group B subtypes were only presented among O139 isolates from Thailand, whereas four O139 strains from Bangladesh and India showed identical PFGE group A subtypes observed in O139 isolates from Thailand. Two nontoxigenic O139 isolates from Thailand showed different and unique PFGE types as did five V. cholerae non-O1 non-O139 isolates containing a gene virulence complex found in V. cholerae O139. These results indicate that PFGE (Cpo I) can resolve recent evolutionary divergence within V. cholerae O139 and offers a useful supplementary tool for following the progressing V. cholerae O139 epidemic.