Restriction endonuclease cleavage analysis of adenovirus type 8: two new subtypes from patients with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis in Sapporo, Japan.

We studied the restriction endonuclease cleavage patterns of DNAs of adenovirus type 8 (Ad 8) isolated from epidemic keratoconjunctivitis cases. DNAs of 25 Ad 8 isolates collected during the period from 1975 to 1981 in Sapporo were subjected to enzymatic cleavage with PstI, BamHl , HindIII and SalI. On the basis of the cleavage patterns, the isolates were divided into two subtypes, A and B, both different from Trim strain used as the Ad 8 prototype strain. Subtype A was prevalent in the period from 1975 to 1978, while subtype B in the period from 1976 to 1981.