Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic PCR for Study of <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> Diversity and Transmission in Human Populations

Abstract

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is considered the "gold standard" for molecular epidemiological study. Repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (rep-PCR) is less time-consuming and more suitable for analyzing large numbers of bacterial strains in human populations. PFGE and rep-PCR provide comparable genotyping results for investigating Streptococcus mutans diversity and transmission.