FINGERPRINTING OF MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM STRAINS ISOLATED FROM MULTIPLE-AGE LAYERS VACCINATED WITH LIVE F-STRAIN

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) isolates were obtained from three multiple-age commercial layer farms on which live F strain vaccine had been administered to each replacement flock for at least 2 years. All such isolates had restriction endonuclease DNA and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis protein patterns characteristic of F strain. These cultures also hybridized in dot blot assays with both the MG strain-specific and species-specific DNA probes. In contrast, the original MG isolate that came from one of the farms before vaccination began clearly was not F strain. These results suggest that continuous use of live F strain vaccine in each replacement pullet flock on multiple-age commercial layer sites will result in displacement of the original field strain of MG with the vaccine strain.