DNA fingerprinting of septicemic and diarrhoeic Escherichia coli O78

Cultures of septicemic and diarrhoeic Escherichia coli O78 respectively in sheep and calves, were studied. The culture from sheep were isolated from blood taken from heart and also from tissue specimen taken from liver, spleen and small intestinal fluid at the time of postmortem examination at CSWRI, ARC Bikaner, in sheep of all age group. These isolates were then subjected to Random Amplified Polymorph DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting by seven random primers viz OPB1, OPB2, OPB5, OPB6. OPB7, OPB8, OPB9. The banding pattern generated by these seven random primers in different isolates was further analyzed by Jackard’s similarity coefficient and dendrogram, which indicated that there is much polymorphism between isolates of Escherichia coli O78 sheep and calves; and the sheep isolates were more similar with each other than isolates from calves.