Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of multiple genome regions of Korean isolates of infectious laryngotracheitis virus collected from chickens

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to characterize infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) viruses isolated from poultry in South Korea using RFLP analysis of PCR products. Seven wild-type Korean isolates from commercial chicken farms collected between 1986 and 2012 were compared with 3 imported commercial vaccine strains [LT Blen (Hudson strain, United States), Laryngo Vac (Cover strain, United States), and Nobilis ILT (Serva strain, France)] and a Korean chicken embryo origin (CEO) vaccine strain [ILT-VAC (Gyeonggi97 strain, Korea)]. Six of the field isolates were highly virulent viruses, and the Kr12AD37 isolate was considered an attenuated type according to Han's RFLP method. These virulent Korean ILT viruses were divided into 3 classes (class I, II, and III). The Kr12AD37 isolate was found to have the same RFLP pattern as the Korean CEO vaccine strain, and both of these strains were different from the 3 foreign vaccine strains. The results suggest that the Korean CEO vaccine strain has been responsible for recent outbreaks, and the characterization of ILT viruses by RFLP was useful for diagnosis by providing epidemiological information.