Restriction fragment length polymorphisms reveal a new molecular group of infectious bursal disease virus in Saudi Arabia [electronic resouce].

Includes references.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes immunosuppression in chickens and high condemnations in slaughter plants. A total of 87 samples were obtained from fifteen commercial chicken flocks and nine backyard chicken flocks that have different ages and vaccination programs. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was used to detect the viruses and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP) was used to compare the RT-PCR products among the viruses that were detected. The restriction enzymes that were used in the RFLP are BstNI and MboI. All backyard flock samples were negative to IBDV. Four samples from commercial flocks were positive for IBDV using the RT-PCR and the RFLP was performed on the RT-PCR product of these samples. Two samples had RFLP bands that were different from any other known RFLP patterns and the other samples had RFLP bands that matched classical vaccine strain patterns. In conclusion, a new molecular group of IBDV may be present in Saudi Arabia that is different from any existing molecular group. Abbreviations: IBDV = Infectious bursal disease virus; RT-PCR = reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; RFLP = Fragment Length Polymorphisms, DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide solution, hv = hyper-variable region, AC-ELISA = Antigen capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

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