Pitfalls of restriction enzyme analysis in identifying, characterizing, typing, and naming viral pathogens in the era of whole genome data, as illustrated by HAdV type 55.

Abstract

A recent controversy over naming of a human adenovirus (HAdV) type 55 as type 11a (Kajon et al., 2013; Walsh et al., 2010) serves as instructive example to illustrate some of pitfalls of relying on REA to identify, characterize, type, and name adenoviral pathogens in era of whole genome data. Some of these concerns have been addressed earlier specifically for adenovirus characterization, where it was noted REA is useful for prototype-like restriction but the occurrence of genome types with deviating restriction patterns limits application of this method (Wigand, 1987).