Application of the polymerase chain reaction to detect fowl adenoviruses

The possibility of using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detect ion of fowl adenoviruses (FAdV) was tested. The optimal reaction parameters were evaluated and defined for purified genomic DNA of type 8 fowl adenovi rus (FAdV-8), and then the same conditions were applied for:nucleic acid ex tracted from infected cells. One hundred picograms of purified viral DNA, o r 250 FAdV-8-infected cells, were detected by ethidium;bromide staining of the PCR:products in agarose gels. The sensitivity was increased to 10 pg pu rified viral DNA, or 25 infected cells, when the PCR products were hybridiz ed with a specific labeled probe. Several field isolates of FAdV and the CE LO virus (FAdV serotype 1) could be amplified by the same primers and condi tions, but the size of the amplicons was smaller than that for the FAdV-8 P CR produce. Other avian viruses and uninfected cell cultures tested negativ e.