Diagnosis of plague and identification of virulence markers in Yersinia pestis by multiplex-PCR
Open Access
- 1 November 1999
- journal article
- Published by FapUNIFESP (SciELO) in Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
- Vol. 41 (6) , 339-342
- https://doi.org/10.1590/s0036-46651999000600002
Abstract
We have developed a procedure for the rapid diagnosis of plague that also allows the identification of prominent virulence markers of Y. pestis strains. This procedure is based upon the use of a single polymerase chain reaction with multiple pairs of primers directed at genes present in the three virulence plasmids as well as in the chromosomal pathogenicity island of the bacterium. The technique allowed the discrimination of strains which lacked one or more of the known pathogenic loci, using as template total DNA obtained from bacterial cultures and from simulated blood cultures containing diluted concentration of bacteria. It also proved effective in confirming the disease in a blood culture from a plague suspected patient. As the results are obtained in a few hours this technique will be useful in the methodology of the Plague Control Program.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- A simple PCR-based procedure for plaque diagnosisRevista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 1996
- Surveillance for Pneumonic Plague in the United States During an International Emergency: A Model for Control of Imported Emerging DiseasesEmerging Infectious Diseases, 1996
- Plague surveillance in Brazil: 1983 - 1992Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 1995
- Survey of the irp2 gene among Yersinia pestis strains isolated during several plague outbreaks in northeast BrazilMemórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 1994
- High-molecular-weight protein 2 of Yersinia enterocolitica is homologous to AngR of Vibrio anguillarum and belongs to a family of proteins involved in nonribosomal peptide synthesisJournal of Bacteriology, 1993
- Nucleotide sequence of the Yersinia pestis gene encoding F1 antigen and the primary structure of the proteinFEBS Letters, 1990
- Plasmid content in Yersinia pestis strains of different originFEMS Microbiology Letters, 1990
- Plasmid composition and virulence-associated factors of Yersinia pestis isolates from a plague outbreak at the Paraíba State, BrazilRevista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 1989
- Estudos bacteriológicos e sorológicos de um surto de peste no Estado da Paraíba, BrasilMemórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 1989
- Isolamento da Yersinia pestis nos focos pestosos do Nordeste do Brasil no período de 1966 a 1982Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 1985