Development of RT-PCR for turkey meningoencephalitis virus and partial sequence analysis of the NS5 gene.

Turkey meningoencephalitis virus (TMEV) causes paralysis and mortality in turkeys. Because the classical diagnostic methods are complicated, we developed the RT-PCR as a new molecular diagnostic method. Since the nucleic acid sequence of TMEV is unknown, the first step in developing the RT-PCR relied on conserved sequences of viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family, in which TMEV has been classified serologically. Using primers from the NS5 gene, three amplification products of TMEV RNA were obtained (125 bp, 181 bp and 800 bp). Their sequences were homologous to one another and to the NS5 gene of other flaviviruses.