Abstract: The application of RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) as a method for rapid identification for beer spoilage was evaluated in the paper. The effects of CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) DNA extraction method and commercial kit on the fingerprint reproducibility were compared and it showned that the variability of RAPD fingerprint was small. The possibility to identify isolates with the 740bp sequence from 5’ end of 16SrDNA was evaluated, which could be amplified with primer BP. The isolates were identified by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) product direct sequencing method. A small library was implemented by cluster analysis of RAPD fingerprint of those strains with primer M-13, which was proved to be useful for the isolates classification. Rapid identification of eight isolates was carried out according to the identification procedure and cut- off species similarity coefficient. It suggested that the RAPD-PCR technique is simple, fast and reliable for identification, proved to be an useful tool for studying the beer spoilage in the process of brewing.

Key words: beer spoilage, RAPD, CTAB, similarity coefficient cut-off, M-13