Comparison of closely related orthopoxvirus isolates by random amplified polymorphic DNA and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

The reliability and reproducibility of random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD) was compared with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) by analysing three virus strains isolated from zoo animals in Berlin and three isolates which were cultivated from pets from Northern Germany. The RAPD technique was evaluated as a reliable tool with good reproducibility of the patterns for each virus strain investigated. Problems of interpretation due to inconsistent intensity of bands in different polymerase chain reaction runs may arise for less experienced personnel. The RAPD analysis can be performed within one working day and needs less DNA compared with RFLP so costs will be reduced. The obvious advantage of RFLP is that the pattern can be traced to the recognition site of the restriction enzyme whereas the RAPD primer sequence is not present in the orthopoxvirus genome at all. To the authors knowledge, the RAPD technique has never been applied in DNA viruses before and they conclude that this technique is a useful tool for the discrimination of closely related cowpoxviruses.