Ribotyping ofMycoplasma gallisepticumstrains with a 16S ribosomal RNA gene probe

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of Mycoplasma gallisepticum isolates from turkeys from the central valley of California

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to investigate the molecular epidemiology of 26 Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) isolates obtained from turkeys located in the central valley of California. The MG isolates were recovered from 5 different companies and 13 ranches. Each company had unique MG strains. No evidence of spread of MG between companies was detected. RAPD analysis of MG isolates within a ranch during an outbreak revealed only a single strain involved in each outbreak. RAPD analysis identified an isolate from 1 ranch with a banding pattern identical to that of the 6/85 vaccine strain, which had been used on that particular ranch. Similar RAPD banding patterns of isolates from different ranches within the same company suggested horizontal spread of MG between ranches. The use of 2 primer sets in RAPD analysis was critical to prevent misinterpretation of relationships between different isolates.

Evaluation of canine Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting and ribotyping

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a respiratory tract pathogen in a variety of species. Previous studies suggest little genetic variation among canine B. bronchiseptica isolates. The degree of genetic diversity in 26 canine B. bronchiseptica strains was evaluated using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting and ribotyping. Strains evaluated include historic reference strains (N=3). vaccine strains (N=5) and clinical isolates (N=18). RAPD fingerprinting with the 10-nucleotide primer OPA-4 resulted in four distinct fingerprint patterns. RAPD fingerprinting consistently separated four previously characterized electromorphotype (EMT) 6 strains into two fingerprint types. Ribotyping, using the restriction endonuclease PvuI, resulted in six distinct ribotypes. With the exception of vaccine strains, considerable genetic diversity exists in the canine B. bronchiseptica isolates examined. These findings indicate the genetic variability within canine strains of B. bronchiseptica is greater than appreciated previously. Additionally, OPA-4 RAPD fingerprinting and PvuI ribotyping will be useful tools in epidemiologic studies of canine B. bronchiseptica isolates.