title: Brucella suis identification and biovar typing by real-time PCR.
abstract: Fast and accurate identification of Brucella suis at the biovar level is an important issue for public health laboratories because some of the biovars that infect suidae (boars and pigs) are pathogenic for humans while others are not. Since classical biovar typing methods are often time-consuming, hard to standardize and require high-level biosafety containment, methodological improvements are desirable. This article describes new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) signatures for the rapid identification and biovar characterization of B. suis. These SNPs were included together with previously described ones in real-time PCR assays applicable to low-biosafety conditions. Allelic profiles unique for each B. suis biovar were defined and the most relevant signatures were determined on a collection of 137 field strains of worldwide origin characterized previously. Biovars assigned with both present and classical methods were globally consistent except for some biovar 3 field strains which matched the allelic profile of biovar 1.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Groeselenberg 99, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fretin
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Whatmore
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Dahouk
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Garin-Bastuji
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Hessche
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ménart
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Godfroid
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walravens
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wattiau
mesh_terms: D041021:Brucella suis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers