Specific genomic fingerprints of Escherichia coli strains with repetitive sequences and PCR as an effective tool for monitoring freshwater environments

The Rep-PCR fingerprinting method has been applied to identify genomic diversity of 252 E. coli strains derived in the area of a flowing-water basin. The received results show that applying UPGMA and Nearest Neighbour-Joining clustering methods to statistical analysis of rep-PCR fingerprints has made it possible to discriminate and group the strains, revealing a characteristic structure of E. coli population for particular stands of sample drawing. The proposed procedure of the analysis may be useful for routinely monitoring water quality.