Subspecies differentiation of Moraxella bovis by restriction endonuclease DNA analysis (BRENDA)

A total of 94 strains of Moraxella bovis have been examined by bacterial restriction endonuclease DNA analysis (BRENDA). These strains comprised isolates from the U.S.A., the U.K., in Australia, and from a number of widely separated areas within New Zealand. The strains were classified into a total of 26 different types on the basis of their BRENDA patterns. Fourteen types were present among 34 strains from the U.S.A., eight types from 17 strains in the U.K. three types from five strains in Australia but only one type resulted from all 38 New Zealand strains. Moraxella liquifaciens, M. nonliquifaciens and an atypical Moraxella sp. isolated from cattle eyes in Australia were tested and produced BRENDA patterns clearly different from those of the Moraxella bovis strains. BRENDA, when used with the restriction endonuclease EcoR1, did not provide a means of distinguishing between avirulent, nonhaemolytic M.bovis, and the virulent haemolytic strains.