Characterisation of avian Pasteurella multocida strains with PCR-RFLP analysis of the ompH gene.

The 16 somatic serotype type strains and 60 field isolates of Pasteurella multocida, representing various avian species and geographic regions in Hungary, were characterised by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the ompH gene with DraI restriction endonuclease. The type strains yielded eight different (I-VIII) profiles. Strains whose PCR fragment was uncut by DraI (profile IV) could be differentiated with HindIII and PvuII restriction endonucleases. Five of the eight PCR-RFLP profiles (I, III, V, VI and VII) were detected among the field strains. Only a correlation of limited strength was found between the classical somatic serotypes and the PCR-RFLP profiles. However, the results confirmed that molecular methods could confidently distinguish serotype A:1 strains from the other serotypes. Moreover, the specific relationship between somatic serotypes and PCR-RFLP types among isolates from turkey raises the possibility of the existence of host-specific clones within the P. multocida population.