Comparison of Genotypic and Phylogenetic Relationships of Environmental Enterococcus Isolates by BOX-PCR Typing and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing.

Environmental Enterococcus spp. were compared by BOX-PCR genotyping and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to clarify the predictive relationship of BOX-PCR fingerprints to species designation. BOX-PCR and 16S rRNA gene relationships agreed for 77% of strains. BOX-PCR provided superior intraspecies discrimination but incorrectly identified some strains to the species level and divided some species into multiple groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]