Comparative characterization of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis from goats in Kerala, India and reference strain

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the etiological agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), a common disease in small ruminant populations throughout the world. Once established, this disease is difficult to eradicate because drug therapy is not effective as the clinical detection of infected animals is of limited efficiency. We investigated the microbiological, biochemical, antibiotic susceptibility and molecular features of C. pseudotuberculosis field isolates from goats and compared with the reference strain. We also examined with the current molecular strategy, restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) of chromosomal DNA for the study of C. pseudotuberculosis field isolates and characterized against the reference using Eco R1, Bgl II, Pst1 and Bam H1. The three field isolates were similar except for one isolate, which fermented lactose. REA of both the field isolates and the reference strain yielded different restriction pattern with Pst I but a similar pattern with Eco RI, Bam HI and Bgl II. All the strains studied were identified as C. pseudotuberculosis biovar ovis. This knowledge may also contribute to the development of improved CLA vaccines, including subunit and DNA-based types, as well as to improve the diagnosis, treatment and control of this disease.