Actinobacillus suis strains isolated from healthy and diseased swine are clonal and carry apxICABD(var. suis) and apxIICA(var. suis) toxin genes

Abstract

Actinobacillus suis isolates recovered from both healthy and diseased pigs were characterized by biochemical testing, serotyping, restriction endonuclease fingerprinting, and apx toxin gene typing. The clinical isolates analyzed were collected over a 10-year period from approximately 40 different locations in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Little variation in the biochemical profiles of these isolates was seen, and all isolates reacted strongly with rabbit antisera prepared against one of the strains. Similarly, by using BamHI and BglII for restriction endonuclease fingerprinting (REF) analysis, all isolates were found to belong to a single REF group. Minor variations could be detected, especially in the BglII fingerprints, but overall the patterns were remarkably similar. Sequences that could be amplified by PCR with primers to the apxICA and apxIICA genes of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae were detected in all strains. Although no amplification was obtained with primers to the A. pleuropneumoniae apxIBD genes, sequences with homology to apxIBD were detected by hybridization. There was no evidence of apxIII homologs. Taken together, these data suggest that A. suis isolates are genotypically and phenotypically very similar, regardless of their source, and that they contain genes similar to, but not identical to, the apxICABD and apxIICA genes of A. pleuropneumoniae.