COMPARATIVE MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF CORYNEBACTERIUM-PSEUDOTUBERCULOSIS OF DIFFERENT ORIGIN

Ribotyping and susceptibility to 17 antimicrobial agents were used to compare 37 isolates of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (28 from hor ses, 1 from cattle, 3 from sheep and 5 from goats) derived from variou s types of lesions, and different geographic locations. According to t he presence of nitrate reductase, all but one isolate from horses redu ced nitrate (nitrate-positive), whereas all isolates from sheep and go ats were unable to reduce nitrate (nitrate-negative). The ribotype of the nitrate-negative isolate from a horse with ulcerative lymphangitis was identical to all the other isolates from horses, and different th an the ribotype of nitrate-negative isolates from sheep and goats. Rib otyping with one of the restriction endonucleases, Apa I, revealed dif ferences between, but not within, the two biotypes. However, ribotypin g with Pst I endonuclease revealed one variant within the equine bioty pe and one variant within the ovine biotype. The minimum inhibitory co ncentration (MIC; mu g/ml) of antimicrobial agents against isolates fr om nitrate-negative and nitrate-positive groups was very similar, with the exception of isolates from sheep and goats which had a higher MIC for amikacin than isolates from horses and cattle. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.