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Laboratory Tests |
Virus Characterisation |
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Biochemical |
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The study of the epidemiology of FMD has been revolutionised by the introduction of
molecular biological techniques which can establish genetic relationships between the causative viruses. In the
1970s and early 1980s protein structure was examined using techniques such as sodium dodecyl
sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and electrofocusing to augment traditional antigenic
comparisons to relate different FMD virus isolates and strains. These techniques relied on measuring changes in
the mobility of the virus proteins (principally the structural polypeptides) through acrylamide gels under
different chemical conditions. Although the differences observed were caused by the inherent variability of the
virus genome, the methods were often too imprecise to yield results that were of significant value. These have
largely been superseded by methods, developed concurrently, to study variation of the virus RNA directly by
analysis of the nucleic acid genome sequencing. These methods have enabled genetic relationships to be established
between the seven FMD serotypes.
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