Differentiation of Brucella species by repetitive element palindromic PCR

Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases among animals and humans. It is a well known fact that the differentiation and rapid typing of Brucella spp. is crucial for the early detection of infection, prevention of infection progress, and/or introducing treatment solutions. Analyzing the sequences could be an effective method in achieving these purposes. The aim of this study was to analyze palindromic sequences for Brucella spp., differentiation using the rep-PCR method. The authors collected 80 animal samples, which were suspected to brucellosis infection. After the cultivation of Brucella, identification was performed through standard biochemical, microbiological, and IS711 PCR assays. By designing the specific primers for polymorphism sequence, the rep-PCR was performed. The resultant pattern was compared with the obtained patterns of the standard Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus samples, which showed dissimilar patterns. For this reason, the PCR products were sequenced, and consequently two new patterns were introduced. This rapid and repeatability assay has the ability to potentially differentiate the B. abortus and B. melitensis species, which could be useful in early diagnosis and treatment of patients with brucellosis. © 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.