Polymerase chain reaction assay for the diagnosis of experimentally infected pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats with Brucella abortus biotype 1

Abstract

In order to diagnose the experimentally infected pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with Brucella abortus biotype 1 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, the SD rats were injected subcutaneously at the dose of 1.0 × 10⁹ colony forming units (cfu) at different stages of gestation period. The maximum rectal temperature was recorded as 38°C in the infected group within 3 days, whereas in the control group the temperature remained normal (36°C). There were no stillbirths, abortions or premature birth and relapsing fever in the infected SD rats. The pathological findings of infected SD rats were splenomegaly, metritis, swelling of lymph nodes, placentitis associated with lymphocytic and macrophage infiltration. Four hundred ninety-eight base pair DNA was detected in infected tissues through AMOS (Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella ovis, Brucella suis) PCR assay. The AMOS PCR assay was shown to be a valuable tool for diagnosis of infected pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats with B. abortus biotype 1.