Identification of genomic variations among geographic isolates of white spot syndrome virus using restriction analysis and Southern blot hybridization

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is widely distributed in most of the Asian countries where penaeid shrimp are cultured, as well as in some regions of the USA, Six geographic isolates of WSSV - 1 each from penaeid shrimp from China, India, Thailand, and the US states of Texas and South Carolina, and 1 isolated from crayfish at the National Zoological Park in Washington, DC - were compared by combining the methods of restriction analysis and Southern blot hybridization. DNA was extracted from purified viruses and then digested with selected endonucleases: AccI, BgIII, ClaI, BamHI, EcoRI, HindII, HaeI, SacI and XhoI. The blots were detected with digoxigenin-11-dUTP-labeled WSSV genomic probes: LN4, C42 and A6. No distinctive differences among the 5 WSSV isolates from penaeid shrimp were detected; however, differences in the WSSV isolate from crayfish were observed. A 2.8 kb DNA fragment originating from the crayfish isolate and encompassing the LN4 region was subcloned into pBluescript and sequenced for comparison with the LN4 fragment from the Thailand WSSV isolate. The results indicate that some genomic components of WSSV from different geographic regions share a high degree of homology. This method can be used to distinguish between the WSSV isolate from crayfish and the WSSV isolates from penaeid shrimp.