Genotyping of Brucella melitensis by rpoB gene analysis and re-evaluation of conventional serotyping method.

In Turkey, where brucellosis is endemic, a comparison of conventional and molecular genotyping methods has not been published to date. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of rpoB gene in the genotyping of Brucella melitensis strains by sequencing. In light of the molecular genotyping method available now in Turkey, the adequacy of serological typing alone should be re-evaluated as a tool for epidemiologic studies of B. melitensis.