Molecular identification of Ornithobacterium isolates from poultry in Markazi Province

Aim and Ornithobacteriosis is an infectious disease of avian species reported in almost all countries around the world. The first recorded isolation of ORT was made from turkeys in Germany in 1981. ORT has been isolated from chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowls, gulls, ostriches, partridges, pheasants, pigeons, quails, rooks and turkeys so far. In Iran, ORT infection was reported by Banani et al for the first time. The aim of the study was to identify the Ornithobacterium isolated in Markazi province using molecular analyses. Sampling and biochemical isolation has been performed in Razi vaccine and serum research institute. Random sample of 20 units and 231 birds has been collected from the Arak poultry farms during August 2011 to March 2013. All of the fifteen isolated samples were cultured in blood agar media with 5µg/ml Gentamicin and incubated at 48 hours in 37˚C. Then all samples were subjected to PCR and sequencing for 16S rRNA. PCR results and observations 784 bp band on the agarose gel confirmed the existence of genera Ornithobacterium. Also compared sequences obtained from isolated sequences available in GeneBank showed that 98-100% were similar to Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale strain indicating the existence of these bacterial species in the farms of Markazi province. Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale can be a dominant species from Ornithobacterium in the farms of Markazi province.