Differentiation of exotic strains of Newcastle disease virus by oligonucleotide fingerprinting.

The oligonucleotide fingerprints of five of six strains of velogenic-viscerotropic Newcastle disease (VVND) virus were readily distinguishable, even though the strains could not be differentiated by a series of in vivo and in vitro procedures. Two of the VVND virus strains tested (10333-0 and 8231412) showed marked similarity to the prototype strain (MIL-0). Two of the remaining three strains (80-27489 and 80-28634) had identical oligonucleotide fingerprints, even though they had a different isolation history and exhibited small differences in their virulence for chickens. Fingerprints of the sixth VVND strain, 80-12927, demonstrated some similarities when it was compared with the prototype virus fingerprint, but it was quite different from strains 80-27489, 10333-0 and 8231412.