Micro-Restriction Fingerprinting (MRF)

Compared to PFGE, Micro-Restriction Fingerprinting (MRF) is a rapid, yet effective, genetic subtyping method designed for subtyping bacterial strains by generating fingerprints, within a 24 hour time period. MRF is a useful technique to monitor and differentiate between different strains belonging to any species.

MRF involves releasing contents of the cells by lysis, isolating genomic DNA and subjecting the DNA to digestion with specific restriction endonucleases in order to generate unique DNA fragments. These fragments are then separated by agarose gel electrophoresis and the banding pattern visualized by ethidium bromide staining and recorded with photography. Data analysis is performed by comparing fingerprint patterns generated from the test samples and/or control strains.