EN
The presented study aimed isolation of Mycobacterium strains from cases of bovine tuberculosis in Turkey, and identification of these isolates by PCR and restriction endonuclease analysis (REA). Mycobacteria were isolated from bronchial, mesenteric, and prescapular lymph nodes and tubercle samples from slaughtered cattle, which were either skin-test reactors or showed tuberculous suspected lesions during meat inspection. The samples were cultured in Lowenstein-Jensen medium. Colonies suspected of being Mycobacterium sp. were analysed by the PCR method using the MTUB_c-gyrBf and MTUB_c-gyrBr primers, which amplify the 1,020-bp region of the gyrB gene, that encodes the В subunit of the DNA gyrase (topoisomerase) enzyme in strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). The REA of MTBC-PCR positive amplified products was performed using the SacII and RsaI enzymes, in order to identify specific strains. The MTBC-PCR analysis of 117 bacterial strains demonstrated that all isolates belonged to the MTBC. All isolates were identified as M. bovis/M. bovis subsp. caprae by Rsal-REA, whilst 93 (79.5%) of the bacterial strains were identified as M. bovis and 24 (20.4%) as M. bovis subsp. caprae by SacII-REA. M. bovis subsp. caprae was isolated and identified for the first time in Turkey from bovine tuberculosis cases.