High genetic diversity among Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis strains from German cattle herds shown by combination of IS900 restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable-number tandem-repeat typing.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the etiologic agent of Johne's disease and is endemic to the national cattle herds of many countries. Because of the very low level of genetic heterogeneity of this organism, it is difficult to select a workable procedure for strain differentiation at a resolution sufficient to investigate epidemiological links between herds or different ruminant species and the suggested zoonotic potential of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis for Crohn's disease. Analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) based on the insertion element IS900 (IS900 RFLP) with four restriction enzymes and 10 markers of specific mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units (MIRUs) and variable-number tandem repeats (VNTRs) was applied to 71 bovine M. avium subs

SUBMITTER: Mobius P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2268378 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature