Restriction endonuclease analysis of the genome of two Italian caprine herpesvirus 1 strains

Two caprine herpesvirus (CpHV.1) strains isolated in two goat flocks in southern Italy were compared with E/CH and McK/US reference CpHV.1 strains by restriction endonuclease analysis. BamHI, KpnI, NotI and PstI restriction enzymes were used. With these enzymes McK/US strain was clearly differentiated from the others. KpnI and NotI digestion resulted in unique patterns for all four strains. Restriction enzyme analysis might be a useful method to distinguish CpHV.1 isolated from animals and provide a basis for further epidemiological studies of the CpHV.1 infection.