Analysis of Leptospira isolates from mainland Portugal and the Azores islands

From 228 recent Leptospira isolates from mainland Portugal and Azorean wild mammals, 149 were characterized at the serovar level by monoclonal antibod ies (MAbs), a quick serological method in epidemiological studies. In order to compare this antigenic information with that from new genetic technique s, a sample of isolates was analyzed through pulsed-field agarose gel elect rophoresis (PFGE) (n = 71), mapped restriction site polymorphisms (MRSPs) i n PCR-amplified rRNA genes (n = 45, including 13 saprophytes) and arbitrari ly primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) fingerprinting (n = 32). MRSP and AP-PCR lead to species identification of the studied 32 pathogenic isol ates: Leptospira interrogans (n = 3), Leptospira borgpetersenii (n = 8) and Leptospira bougpetersenii (n = 21). MAbs and PFGE characterized pathogenic isolates at the serovar level and resulted mainly in agreement (64%) altho ugh many discrepancies (35%) were observed. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.