LAUSR

M. gallisepticum infection is a serious economic threat to the poultry industry in India, and the genetic diversity of Indian isolates is unknown. Gene-targeted sequence analysis of M. gallisepticum was conducted for the first time to map the diversity among different Indian isolates from different regions and from different clinical conditions. Sequence analysis of the mgc2 gene grouped the 13 field isolates into four groups. The most prevalent sequence type, the group1 shared 100% identity with the foreign strains THA 3CK08 (Thailand) and UHP1CK99 (Israel). Groups two and three were novel, and were genetically distinct from the strains outside the country. Group four shared 100% similarity with the vaccine strain MG6/85. The nucleotide similarity between the 4 groups ranged from 94.3-99.2%. A PCR-RFLP method using HaeII was tested and validated for its ability to differentiate the Indian field isolates from vaccine strains.