Molecular profiling of Bacteroides spp. in human feces by PCR-temperature gradient gel electrophoresis

A group-specific PCR-based temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) method was developed to study the population composition of genus Bacteroides in human gut. Highly reproducible and well-separated bands in TGGE fingerprints of ten unrelated human fecal samples showed complex and host-specific Bacteroides species composition. Dynamic monitoring over 22 months of samples from one healthy 10-year-old boy indicated a relatively stable population profile of Bacteroides. The species identity of each band in TGGE gel of this boy was also resolved via comigration analysis of sequenced inserts in a Bacteroides group-specific clone library. This work provides a rapid and effective technique for analyzing the species composition of Bacteroides in human gut.