Identification of Weakly Beta-Hemolytic Porcine Spirochetes by Biochemical Reactions, PCR-Based Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis and Species-Specific PCR

Abstract

We examined the usefulness of PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and species-specific PCR combined with a newly devised rapid biochemical test using microplates for identifying weakly beta-hemolytic intestinal spirochetes (WBHIS) isolated from pigs. WBHIS strains showing atypical biochemical characteristics were decisively identified at the species level by PCR-RFLP and species-specific PCR. Identification of WBHIS at the species level in routine diagnostic work will certainly contribute to clarifying the pathogenicity of WBHIS.