Th. Haugen et al., RESTRICTION ENZYME FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISMS OF AMPLIFIED HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-1 DNA PROVIDE EPIDEMIOLOGIC INFORMATION, Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease, 17(2), 1993, pp. 129-133
Human herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) DNA of isolates from patients in a
large teaching hospital was amplified by the polymerase chain reactio
n (PCR). The PCR products targeted approximately 2100 nt regions of re
latively low G + C content. Comparison of restriction enzyme digests o
f amplified DNA showed variation useful for strain differentiation. Tw
elve nonrelated HSV-1 were differentiated from one another. In contras
t, specimens epidemiologically related in an outbreak were indistingui
shable from each other. Restriction endonuclease analysis of amplified
HSV-1 sequences appears to be useful for molecular epidemiology and l
aboratory quality control to detect possible contamination by PCR prod
ucts.