Genetic relatedness of disease-associated field isolates of bovid herpesvirus type 4.

Eight field isolates of bovid herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) were examined by restriction analysis and Southern blot hybridization with respect to their relatedness to one another and to the BHV-4 prototype strain DN-599. Isolates were obtained from cattle exhibiting a range of disease states including abortion, pneumonia, enteritis, metritis, and vaginal blisters. Initial growth studies of all 9 viruses were performed and revealed that the overall rate of virus growth was slow when compared with that of other herpesviruses. Infection with each virus also resulted in the formation of large fused cells, which in addition to the slow growth rate, indicated that the isolates were of the cytomegalovirus type. Further studies to characterize and compare the various BHV-4 isolates were undertaken by obtaining cell-free virus from infected cell populations. Viral isolates were purified and used as a source of BHV-4 DNA. Purified DNA, representing each of the 8 field isolates and the prototype strain DN-599, were each cleaved with 3 restriction enzymes and were separated by agarose-gel electrophoresis, and the resultant fragment patterns were compared. In general, genomic fragments of the field isolates corresponded to those generated by cleavage of DN-599 DNA, with the exception of the abortion-associated isolate 83-3572. Additional minor differences were also seen between DN-599 DNA and DNA from the other field isolates, but the overall restriction patterns were similar. To confirm that all isolates were members of the BHV-4 type, hybridization studies were performed using DN-599.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)