Development of a specific biotinylated DNA probe for the detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum

A specific DNA probe for the identification of Renibacterium salmoninarum, the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), was developed from one of 3 clones pRS47, pRS49, and pRS26 of 5.1 kb, 5.3 kb, and 11.3 kb, respectively. The biotinylated pRS47/BamHI insert probe was tested on 3 dilutions of DNA extracted from 3 strains of R. salmoninarum and from 1 strain each of Arthrobacter protophormiae, Aeromonas salmonicida, Corynebacterium aquaticum, Carnobacterium piscicola, Listonella anguillarum, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Vibrio ordalii, and Yersinia ruckeri. In a dot blot assay, this probe hybridized only with the DNA from the R. salmoninarum strains. When used on kidney samples from fish challenged with R. salmoninarum, the dot blot hybridization assay with the probe was found to be as sensitive as culture. In a fluorescent antibody test, samples that were negative in culture and dot blot hybridization showed no more than one fluorescing cell in 50 microscopic fields examined. This DNA probe, therefore, has the potential for use in the diagnosis of BKD of fish.