Genomic identification of Pasteurella multocida isolated from turkey flock in Egypt early 2008

Abstract

Molecular detection and differentiation of Pasteurella multocida strain involved in a separate fowl cholera outbreak in a turkey flock farm located in El-Menofia Governorate, Egypt early 2008 was investigated. The isolated strain was compared with an Egyptian Pasteurella multocida isolate that was previously isolated from turkey flock during last decade besides four vaccinal strain (A:5, A:8, A:9 and D:2) on phenotypic and genotypic characterization basis. Phenotypically all the strains were similar as all the strains produce non haemolytic colonies on blood agar, and all the strains revealed similar biochemial behaviour. On the other hand, the genomic typing of all the stains using rep-PCR techniques [repetitive BOX elements, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) and repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) polymerase chain reaction (PCR)] differentiated the six Pasteurella multocida strains into six different profiles. The molecular identity between the Pasteurella multocida 2008 strain and the previously isolated strain was 76.6 % and were ranged from 65.2% to 79.2% with the 4 vaccinal strains. These results reported the continuous mutations of the field Pasteurella multocida strains among poultry flocks in Egypt indicating the urgent need for the frequent and continuous molecular epidemiological investigations of fowl cholera outbreaks in various poultry flocks to detect these new strains and update the fowl cholera vaccines.