Prototype of a multiplex PCR test system for differentiation of anthrax microbe from close-kinded bacilles

Abstract

Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium capable of causing anthrax, a particularly dangerous disease of warm-blooded animals. The indication of B. anthracis is often complicated by the hight genetic similarity between B. anthracis and some closely related Bacillus species. In present work, we propose a set of oligonucleotide primers and Taq-man probes intended for simultaneous detection of three hight-specific for B. anthracis chromosomal loci in multiplex PCR. The proposed set of oligonucleotides makes it possible to identify B. anthracis with a high degree of certainty without regard to the plasmid profile of the strain and to differentiate B. anthracis from closely related microorganisms, even those with atypical genetic properties. Key words: Bacillus anthracis, PCR, species diagnostics