Isolation Independent Methods of Characterizing Phage Communities 1: Strain Typing Using Fingerprinting Methods

Since most of the phage genomes isolated from natural samples are previously unknown sequences, an isolation-independent approach is necessary to quantify the diversity of natural viral communities. Currently, two different methodological approaches are widely used to obtain genetic fingerprints of natural phage communities. While the separation of different viral genomes with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is based on the size of the genome, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) uses minor differences in gene base composition to separate fragments of amplified DNA from natural viral communities. Finger printing techniques are a relatively fast and cheap tool to assess the diversity of environmental viruses. Together, PFGE and DGGE provide useful tools to study viral ecology in natural habitats.