Hybridization studies with a DNA probe derived from the virulence region of the 60 Mdal plasmid of Salmonella typhimurium.

Plasmid DNA of 68 strains of Salmonella that belonged to 18 serovars and exhibited 48 different plasmid profiles was examined for hybridization with a 32P-labelled DNA probe which consisted of a 3750 base pairs (bp) HindIII-HindIII fragment derived from the virulence region of the 60 megadalton (Mdal) plasmid of Salmonella typhimurium. The 32 Mdal plasmid of S. cholerae-suis, the 50 Mdal plasmid of S. dublin, the 36 Mdal plasmid of S. enteritidis, the 60 Mdal plasmid of S. gallinarum, the 60 Mdal plasmid of S. pullorum, and the 60 Mdal plasmid of S. typhimurium, plasmids that have been associated with virulence, all hybridized with the probe. Digestion of plasmid DNA of these strains with PvuII and hybridization with the probe revealed that the plasmids of strains of all six serovars contained fragments of approximately 2520 and 1520 bp that hybridized with the probe. Similarly, hybridization with BglI digests of DNA of the virulence-associated plasmids of strains of these six serovars showed that all six plasmids contained a fragment of approximately 3690 bp that hybridized with the probe. No other plasmids of these strains nor any plasmids of 12 other Salmonella serovars hybridized with the probe. Chromosomal DNA did not hybridize with the probe. The 60 Mdal plasmids of S. gallinarum and S. pullorum showed similar digestion patterns with restriction endonucleases BglI, BglII and PvuII.