Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most significant pathogens causing nosocomial infections. Twelve (12) methicilllin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains obtained from clinical samples in Abia State, Nigeria was subjected to DNA fingerprinting by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to examine their genotypic polymorphism and subsequently determine the degree of genetic relatedness among the various isolates. DNA extraction was carried out by boiling method and quantified using nanodrop1000 spectrophotometer. The amplification was carried out using three randomly selected oligonucleotide primers SaOLP6, SaOLP11 and SaOLP13. Amplification of isolates resulted in several polymorphic bands which ranged from 170-1000bp, Dendrogram analysis generated three main clusters (cluster A, B and C) and indicated that the strains isolated from the same hospital were closely related as they aligned together in the same cluster while two strains isolated from 2 different hospitals grouped together showing probable genetic relationship. This study shows that the simple and cost-effective
RAPD fingerprinting could be effectively used in detection of polymorphism, tracking the spread of strains within and between hospitals, and thereby preventing the nosocomial infections caused by MRSA.
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Volume
Page Range
94-98
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