ARS | Publication request: COMBINED MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANALYSES OF MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS ISOLATES FROM NORTH AMERICA

Submitted to: United States Animal Health Association Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: October 24, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was used to study the molecular epidemiology of 266 Mycobacterium bovis isolates from mammals in North America. Most of the isolates were from cattle and deer. DNA from each isolate was digested with restriction endonucleases PvuII and AluI and probed with IS6110 and the direct repeat (DR) sequence. Among the e266 isolates, there were 42 and 51 distinct RFLP patterns when DNA was probed with IS6110 and DR, respectively. Eighty-two RFLP types were identified when results of the two probes were combined and 86.5 percent (230/266) of the isolates were distributed among 52 clusters. Clustered isolates were identified within herds, as well as in geographically dispersed herds in North America. This observation is consistent with active transmission of the organism within herds and between herds. Transmission between herds may be the result of recent or historical animal lmovement. Mapping of RFLP types relative to the geographic location of th herd of origin is underway using the global positioning system.