Detection of H-1 parvovirus and Kilham rat virus by PCR

D. G. Besselsen, C. L. Besch-Williford, D. J. Pintel, C. L. Franklin, R. R. Hook, L. K. Riley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

H-1 virus and Kilham rat virus (KRV) are autonomous parvoviruses which generally cause subclinical infections in rats and can cause persistent infections in cell cultures. In this study, primer sets specific for either H-1 or KRV were designed on the basis of DNA sequence comparisons of the rodent parvoviruses. The specificities of the H-1- and KRV-specific primer sets were determined by testing viral preparations of seven different parvoviruses and nine other viruses known to infect rodents. The H-1-specific PCR assay amplified the expected 254-bp product only in the presence of H-1 viral DNA and was able to detect as little as 100 fg of H-1 viral DNA. The KRV-specific PCR assay generated the expected 281-bp product only when KRV viral DNA was used as the template and was able to detect as little as 10 pg of KRV viral DNA. Each assay was able to detect its respective virus in tissues from rats experimentally infected with H-1 or KRV. In contrast, no product was amplified by either assay with tissues from mock-infected rats. Our findings indicate that these PCR assays provide rapid, specific, and sensitive methods for the detection of H-1 or KRV infection in rats and cell culture systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1699-1703
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of clinical microbiology
Volume33
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)

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