Polymerase chain reaction amplification of segments of pestivirus genomes

Reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a region of the viral genome at the 3' end of the glycoprotein(s) gene was employed with the aim of determining its applicability as a diagnostic tool for pestiviruses. Candidate primers were designed, from homologous segments detected by comparison between the sequences of strains NADL, Osloss and Alfort. A segment of 634 base pairs on the glycoprotein gene was targeted for amplification. Segments of five pestivirus strains of bovine viral diarrhoea virus, two of border disease virus and the Alfort 187 strain of hog cholera virus were amplified successfully.