title: Polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Chlamydia psittaci in the feces of budgerigars.
abstract: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the ompA gene of Chlamydia psittaci was evaluated for its ability to detect chlamydiae in fecal specimens of budgerigars as compared with isolation procedures using cell culture and embryonated egg inoculations. Several procedures for PCR template DNA preparation were compared so as to determine their detection levels for chlamydiae propagated in cell culture in the presence of fecal materials. Tween-20 and proteinase K treatments followed by centrifugation of the template DNA were found to be an appropriate procedure for DNA preparation for primary PCR. Subsequent nested PCR was shown to detect 4.8 IFU/ml or 84 particles/ml of chlamydiae. Chlamydiae in 50 fecal specimens from apparently healthy budgerigars were examined by nested PCR and several other methods. Nested PCR detected chlamydiae at a higher rate (12/50, 24%) than the isolation procedure in embryonated eggs (6/50, 12%). Primary PCR combined with the isolation procedure in cell culture gave a detection rate (5/50, 10%) similar to that of isolation from embryonated eggs. Detection rates by primary PCR (1/50, 2%) and in cell culture (0%) were inferior to the other procedures.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kariwa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002691:Chlamydophila psittaci / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010311:Parrots; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D009956:Psittacosis / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins