Differentiation of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae strains by sequence analysis of 16S rDNA and ribosomal intergenic regions, and development of a species specific oligonucleotide for in situ detection.

The aims of this study were to characterize and determine intraspecies and interspecies relatedness of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae to Actinobacillus lignieresii and Actinobacillus suis by sequence analysis of the ribosomal operon and to find a species-specific area for in situ detection of A. pleuropneumoniae. Amplification and sequence analysis of the 16S-23S rDNA ribosomal intergenic sequence (RIS) from the three species showed the existence of two RIS's, differing by about 100 bp. Both sequences contained a region resembling the ribonuclease III cleavage site found in Escherichia coli. The smaller RIS contained a Glu-tRNA gene, and the larger one contained genes encoding Ile-tRNA and Ala-tRNA. These tRNA's showed a high sequence homology to the respective tRNA genes found in E. coli. Sequence analysis of the RIS's showed a high degree of genetic similarity of 24 strains of A. pleuropneumoniae. The larger RIS's were different between the 3 species tested. The sequence of the 16S ribosomal gene was determined for 8 serotypes of A. pleuropneumoniae. These sequences showed only minor base differences, indicating a close genetic relatedness of these serotypes within the species. An oligonucleotide DNA probe designed from the 16S rRNA gene sequence of A. pleuropneumoniae was specific for all strains of the target species and did not cross react with A. lignieresii, the closest known relative of A. pleuropneumoniae. This species-specific DNA probe labeled with fluorescein was used for in situ hybridization experiments to detect A. pleuropneumoniae in biopsies of diseased porcine lungs.