Restriction endonucleases in identification of a genome type of adenovirus 19 associated with keratoconjunctivitis

Adenovirus type 19 (Ad19) was first associated with disease in 1973 when several outbreaks of keratoconjunctivitis were reported from Europe and North America. We have examined Ad19 isolates by deoxyribonucleic acid restriction with BamHI, BglI, and SmaI restriction endonucleases. All keratoconjunctivitis-associated Ad19 isolates were identical but different from the Ad19 prototype. The total number of resolved restriction fragments of the Ad19 prototype genome was 31, only 17 of which migrated as the restriction fragments of keratoconjunctivitis-associated genomes. We conclude that two different genome types of Ad19 exist, one of which has been responsible for the recent outbreaks of keratoconjunctivitis.