Genetic identification of Mycobacterium bovis BCG by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the direct-repeat region

Abstract

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed on the direct repeat (DR) regions of 14 strains of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. With AluI-digested DNA, BCG Japanese, Russian, and Mexican had differing RFLP patterns but 11 strains, including Pasteur, Glaxo, and Tice, had an identical pattern not detected in over 60 other strains of the M. tuberculosis complex. DR analysis can aid in confirming the identification of clinical BCG isolates.