Molecular cloning of Yersinia ruckeri aroA gene: a useful taxonomic tool

The aroA gene of Yersinia ruckeri , which encodes 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase was cloned by complementation of the aroA mutation in Escherichia coli AB2829 by using pUC18 plasmid as a vector. Nucleotide sequence of the aroA gene revealed an open reading frame of 427 amino acids showing a high degree of homology to other bacterial AroA proteins. A pair of primers with 23 and 20 nucleotides were selected from the 5' and 3' termini, respectively, and formed the basis of a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. A 1165-bp deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragment was amplified from all lysed Y. ruckeri strains. An identical size fragment was also amplified from lysed Y. pseudotuberculosis , Y. aldovae , Salmonella enteritidis and E. coli , but not from other enterobacteria. Alu I restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the PCR amplified products allowed for differentiation between Y. ruckeri and the other bacteria. Specificity and sensitivity make this PCR assay a useful method for rapid identification and diagnosis of Y. ruckeri infections.