Application of ribotyping and IS200 fingerprinting to distinguish the fiveSalmonella serotype 06,7 : c : 1,5 groups: Choleraesuis sensu stricto, Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Paratyphi C, and Typhisuis

Sixty-seven strains of the five described Salmonella serotypes having antig ens 6,7:c:1,5, that is S. enterica serotype Choleraesuis sensu stricto, Cho leraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Paratyphi C, and Typh isuis, were examined for 16S rrn profile ribotype, presence of IS200 and ph enotypic characters, including rate of change of flagellar-antigen phase an d nutritional character. Choleraesuis sensu stricto and its Kunzendorf vari ant had related but distinct ribotypes. Therefore, ribotyping appears to be a suitable method for differentiating Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf from Cho leraesuis var. Kunzendorf. Some strains of Paratyphi C had 16S profiles tha t resembled that of Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf, while others resembled tha t of Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf. The Typhisuis profiles were like those o f Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf, while the Choleraesuis var. Decatur profiles were unlike those of any of the other four groups. Furthermore, IS200 fing erprinting discriminated between Choleraesuis var. Decatur and the other st rains with antigenic formula O6,7:c: 1,5, and comparison of IS200 patterns showed a high degree of genetic divergence within Choleraesuis var. Decatur . Our findings show that ribotyping and IS200 fingerprinting, combined with classical microbiological methods, distinguish the groups Choleraesuis non -Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Parat yphi C and Typhisuis.