PubMed · 15337400
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Boaz Avidor, Michael Giladi. The right answer.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(04)16932-8
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PCR targeting the 16S-23S rRNA gene intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region has been proposed as a rapid and reliable method for the detection of Bartonella species DNA in clinical samples. Because of variation in ITS sequences among Bartonella species, a single PCR amplification can be used to detect different species within this genus. Therefore, by targeting the ITS region, multiple PCRs or additional sample-processing steps beyond the primary amplification can be avoided when attempting to achieve molecular diagnostic detection of Bartonella species. Although PCR amplification targeting this region is considered highly sensitive, amplification specificity obviously depends on primer design. We report evidence of nonspecific PCR amplification of Mesorhizobium species with previously published primers that were designed to amplify the Bartonella consensus ITS region. Use of these or other, less species-specific, primers could lead to a false-positive diagnostic test result when evaluating clinical samples. We also report the presence of Mesorhizobium species DNA as a contaminant in molecular-grade water, a series of homologous sequences in the ITS region that are common to Bartonella and Mesorhizobium species, the amplification of Mesorhizobium DNA with unpublished primers designed in our laboratory targeting the ITS region, and the subsequent design of unambiguous ITS primers that avoid nonspecific amplification of Mesorhizobium species. Our results define some potential limitations associated with the molecular detection of Bartonella species in patient samples and indicate that primer specificity is of critical importance if the ITS region is used as a diagnostic target for detection of Bartonella species.
Interactions between microbes and human hosts can range from a benign, even symbiotic collaboration to a competition that may turn fatal--resulting in death of the host, the microbe or both. Despite advances that have been made over the past decades in understanding microbial pathogens, more people worldwide still die every year from infectious disease than from any other cause. This highlights the relevance of continuing to probe the mechanisms used by microorganisms to cause disease, and emphasizes the need for new model systems to advance our understanding of host-pathogen interactions.
A Real-time PCR for the identification and differentiation of Bartonella spp. based on the detection of mutations in an internal region of the gltA gene by thermal analysis was developed. The assay included a simultaneous detection of the amplicons by direct hybridization of LCRed and fluorescein-labelled probes coupled with melting curve analysis by the use of fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology. The protocol allowed establishing genospecie identity in less than 1 h without a need for restriction enzyme digestion or gel electrophoresis. The method is simple, reproducible, rapid, specific and potentially transferable to clinical samples.