Detection of egg drop syndrome–76 virus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction endonuclease (RE) analysis of its penton gene

Four Indian field isolates of egg drop syndrome (EDS-76) virus (three from chicken and one from quail origin), isolated from different geographical regions, were characterized at molecular level by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction endonuclease (RE) analysis of its penton gene. Self-designed oligonucleotide primers, complementary to conserved regions of the viral gene, amplified the whole penton gene of all the four EDS-76 virus isolates, yielding virus specific PCR amplicons of 1504 bp. To differentiate EDS-76 virus isolates of different species, the PCR amplified penton genes of all the four isolates were digested with three restriction endonuclease enzymes viz. MluI, DraI and MboII. All the four isolates tested yielded similar restriction profiles with the three enzymes used, which reveals the conserved nature of the penton gene. The RE pattern thus obtained could not differentiate EDS-76 virus isolates from different species. It may be concluded that the Indian EDS-76 virus isolates used in the present study broadly fall into the same genetic lineage.