Summary
Brucella field strains were identified using molecular techniques. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, based on amplification of the insertion sequence IS711, was used to identify the isolates at species level. Subsequently, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the omp2a and omp2b genes was used to assign the Brucella species to the different biovars. A total of 248 field strains were processed and complete agreement was obtained with the species/biovar identifications made by conventional bacteriological methods. PCR based tests were more rapid and proved valuable in overcoming some of the drawbacks of conventional methods.

Keywords
Biovars, Brucellosis, Italy, Molecular techniques, Polymerase chain reaction, Restriction fragment length polymorphism.