title: Differentiation of pathogenic and non-pathogenic serotype 1 Marek's disease viruses (MDVs) by the polymerase chain reaction amplification of the tandem direct repeats within the MDV genome.
abstract: There are no simple, direct methods to reliably distinguish oncogenic serotype 1 Marek's disease viruses (MDVs) from their attenuated variants. The present study was an attempt to apply polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to develop a rapid and sensitive assay for the presence of the MDV genome. PCR oligos were chosen to flank the 132-base-pair tandem direct repeats in the serotype 1 MDV genome. The PCR reaction was specific for serotype 1 MDVs, amplifying fragments corresponding to one to three copies of the tandem repeats present in Md11/8, JM/102W, and GA viruses. A high-molecular-weight DNA smear was observed when the DNA from an attenuated Md11/100 was PCR-amplified. Use of the PCR technique allowed the detection of two copies of the 132-base-pair repeat in the DNA extracted from MDV-induced lymphomas removed from two chickens. No DNA was amplified from the DNA extracted from lymphomas induced by either an avian leukosis virus (RAV-1) or reticuloendotheliosis virus (chick syncytial virus).
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, East Lansing, Michigan 48823.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D008381:Herpesvirus 2, Gallid / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004279:DNA, Viral