Not AvailableCorynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the causative
agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CL), a chronic debilitating
disease of goats. In the present study, a total of 575 goats of
Sirohi breed on an organized farm situated in the semi-arid
tropical region of Rajasthan, India were clinically examined.
Pus samples from superficial lymph nodes of 27 (4.7%) adult
goats presenting clinical lesions suggestive of CL were collected
for bacteriological and molecular analyses. Of these goats,
51.9% yielded C. pseudotuberculosis on the basis of morphological,
cultural and biochemical characteristics. A polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting proline iminopeptidase
gene specific to C. pseudotuberculosis was developed that
confirmed all 14 bacterial isolates. The specificity of the PCR
product was confirmed by sequencing of the 551-bp amplicon
in both senses, showing 98–100% homology with published
sequences. Thus, overall prevalence rate based on clinical,
bacterial culture and PCR assay were found to be 4.7%, 2.4%
and 2.4%, respectively. The PCR assay developed in this study
was found to be specific and rapid, and could be used for
confirmation of CL in goats as an alternative method to generally
cumbersome, time-consuming and less reliable conventional
methods.Not Availabl
