A. Schiaffino et al., STRAIN TYPING WITH IS200 FINGERPRINTS IN SALMONELLA-ABORTUSOVIS, Applied and environmental microbiology, 62(7), 1996, pp. 2375-2380
A collection of Salmonella abortusovis isolates was examined for the p
resence of insertion element IS200. All proved to contain three or fou
r copies of the element. One IS200 hybridization band of similar to 9
kb was found in all isolates, indicating that all S. abortusovis strai
ns carry an IS200 element in similar or identical locations; this band
can be potentially useful for serovar identification. S. abortusovis
collection isolates from distinct geographic areas were highly polymor
phic, suggesting that IS200 fingerprints might provide information on
the geographic origin of S. abortusovis strains. Isolates obtained fro
m the same geographic area (the island of Sardinia, Italy) were less p
olymorphic: all shared three constant IS200 hybridization bands, indic
ating that they derive from a single ancestor. Most strains analyzed c
ontained an additional copy of IS200 in the variable region of the vir
ulence plasmid. Certain Sardinian flocks proved to be infected by only
one S. abortusovis strain, while others harbored two strains. Strain
typing with IS200 fingerprints proved to be more reliable than plasmid
analysis, because the latter yielded a high degree of polymorphism, e
ven among isolates from the same flock.