Development of a polymerase chain reaction and a nonradioactive DNA probe for infectious laryngotracheitis virus

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed using infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) primers made from a portion of the ILTV thymidine kinase gene. DNA from various ILTV field isolates, from the USDA challenge strain of ILTV, and from commercial ILTV vaccines was specifically amplified. No amplification occurred using template DNA from uninfected chicken-embryo liver cells (CELC), several nonavian alphaher-pesviruses, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma synoviae, Pasteurella hemolytica, Escherichia coli, a group I avian adenovirus, fowl poxvirus, or a psittacid herpesvirus. The 647-base pair-amplified ILTV PCR product was labeled to create a nonradioactive, biotinylated DNA probe. Hybridization using the probe detected ILTV DNA. Both PCR and hybridization yielded positive results with ILTV DNA but not with the DNA of other pathogens. Hybridization was specific for ILTV using a stringent salt solution for a 30-min wash step or a somewhat less stringent salt solution for a 60-min wash step. However, slight hybridization occurred with CELC DNA when the less stringent salt solution was used in a 30-min wash step.