Patent Application
20090004654
This application claims the benefit of priority to Spanish Patent Application No. ES 200701830, filed Jun. 29, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a method for the detection and identification of bacterial species belonging to the genera Anaplasma/Ehrlichia and Bartonella (ES 2264642), and also provides triggers and probes required for its application, as well as associated kits.
To date, about 200 zoonotic diseases (e.g., bartonelosis, leptospirosis, Lyme borreliosis, etc.), which affect humans and represent one of the main causes of death and entail substantial economic loss in third world countries, have been described. Coexistence with animals, lack of sanitary infrastructure and low cultural level continue to be the main allies of these diseases.
In the same manner, certain types of zoonosis which are widespread in third world countries are now thriving in industrialized countries as a consequence of population increases in urban and periurban areas, and increased movement of animals across international borders. These circumstances, amongst others, entail the risk of introducing exotic diseases into the environment.
Additionally, the frequent findings of arthropods infected by more than one of the pathogens included in the present invention, increases the possibility of more than one zoonotic disease being transmitted in a single bite. As a result, hospitalizations due to medical profiles produced by contact with animals or arthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, lice, mites, etc., which act as vectors or pathogen reservoirs, is becoming increasingly common. Said medical profiles, due to their high degree of similarity, do not allow a fast and reliable identification of the pathogenous agent, so that specific and fast treatment is not possible and is occasionally administered too late. This undoubtedly justifies the need for a comprehensive method to detect and identify bacterial species that cause zoonosis.
To date, the molecular diagnosis methods available are basically limited to the detection of pathogens based on antibody technology. This type of analysis, generally retrospective and with low sensitivity levels, is normally of little use to treating diseases in acute-phase states.
Another alternative for the detection and identification of pathogens is based on the application of culture mediums. These types of techniques are scarcely applicable to certain species of genera, such as Bartonella and Anaplasma/Ehrlichia, due to the fact that said species do not normally grow in regular culture mediums and may even require cellular cultures. As a result, these methodologies are isolated from regular practice in hospital microbiology laboratories. One of the most effective alternatives to these types of methodologies is the direct analysis of genetic material, based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology. Said technology, while being highly effective, is greatly limited by the difficulty in finding specific markers or regions, in addition to triggers and probes, which ensure reliable sample analysis.
A paper has recently been published (Blaskovic D. et al. 2005. FEMS Microbiology Letters 243:273-8) which describes a method based on ribosomal DNA analysis, although it uses universal triggers which amplify the genetic material of both target and non-target bacteria, due to which its sensitivity is substantially reduced.
Other methods, such as those described by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,300,072 and 6,518,020, are capable of detecting and identifying bacteria of the genus Bartonella by using the same region (16S-23S), even though the number of species within this genus has increased substantially since said patents were filed and their approximation, which consists of discriminating between species according to the size of the amplicon obtained during PCR, is not useful for certain known species within the same genus which are similar in size to the amplified fragment.
The present invention relates to the use of genes 16S and msp2 and intergenic space 16S-23S for the detection and identification of the different bacterial species and groups of species that cause zoonosis, improving the previously described procedures based on its capacity to specifically detect a substantial number of bacterial species using probes and triggers with high sensitivity levels.
Therefore, the present invention solves the problem of the tediousness and complexity of detecting a high number of bacteria that cause zoonosis which can be clinically and/or epidemiologically indistinguishable, through the development of a detection method and Kit based on PCR technology. Specifically, the invention allows the analysis of different regions of bacterial DNA belonging to the genera Anaplasma/Ehrlichia and Bartonella in order to identify both genus and species, as shown in the following table (Table 1).
In most cases, the species identified correspond to cultured species and, in others, correspond to species isolated for the first time (non-cultured species). Said species have been obtained from samples of Meles meles (badger), Ixodes ricinus and Apodemus sylvaticus species and have been characterized by the sequences AJ269792 and SEQ ID NO:44-46, as shown in Table 3.
Anaplasma/Ehrlichia
A. phagocytophilum msp2
Ehrlichia ruminantium
E. sennetsu
E. risticii
E. muris
A. platys
E. canis/E. ovina
Bartonella
B. talpae
Bartonella sp.*
B. phoceensis
B. rattimasiliensis
Bartonella sp. detected in Apodemus sylvaticus
B. rochalimae
Bartonella sp. detected in badger
Bartonella sp** detected in Ixodes ricinus
Bartonella sp detected in Ixodes ricinus
According to a first aspect of the invention, said invention relates to a method (hereinafter, method of the invention) for the detection and identification, preferably simultaneous, of any of the bacterial species and genera, as indicated in Tables 2 and 3, comprising the following steps:
The triggers required to apply the method of the invention may be designed by means of multiple alignment with the sequences comprising SEQ ID NO:1-17 and 47 using computer programs such as CLUSTAL X, and allow the identification of highly preserved regions that will act as a mould for trigger design, which must subsequently be validated empirically.
According to a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the triggers are capable of hybridizing with different nucleotide regions of the genes 16S, msp2 and intergenic space 16S-23S (Tables 2 and 3), although the sequences of said triggers shall preferably be selected from the SEQ ID NO:18-25 group and/or their complementary sequences, these being capable of amplifying SEQ ID NO:1-17, 47 and/or their complementary sequences, in a preferably simultaneous manner. These triggers, in addition to simplifying the method, have the advantage of low or null reactivity with respect to samples of other species (see Table 5).
According to an even more preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the detection of sequences SEQ ID NO:1-17, 47 and/or their complementary sequences may be carried out based on well-known methodologies within the art, preferably using probes. According to an even more preferred embodiment, said probes are capable of hybridizing between the positions of genes 16S, msp2 and intergenic space 16S-23S, as indicated in Tables 2 and 3, although said probes will preferably comprise the sequences selected from the group that comprises SEQ ID NO:26-42, 48 and/or their complementary sequences.
A second aspect of the invention relates to triggers capable of amplifying the sequences selected from the group comprising SEQ ID NO:1-17, 47 and their complementary sequences. Preferably, said triggers shall be capable of hybridizing between the nucleotide positions of genes 16S, msp2 and intergenic space 16S-23S, as indicated in Tables 2 and 3 (column 3). According to an even more preferred embodiment, the triggers comprise the sequences selected from the group SEQ ID NO:18-25 and/or their complementary sequences. Hereinafter, these will be referred to as triggers of the invention.
A third aspect of the invention relates to probes capable of specifically detecting any of the bacterial species and genera, as indicated in Tables 2 and 3 (column 6), said probes being capable of hybridizing between nucleotide positions of genes 16S, msp2 and intergenic space 16S-23S, as indicated in tables 2 and 3. According to an even more preferred embodiment, the probes have sequences selected from the group SEQ ID NO:26-47, 48 and/or their complementary sequences. Hereinafter, these will be referred to as probes of the invention.
A fourth aspect of the invention relates to an analysis kit for the identification of any of the bacterial genera or species, as indicated in tables 2 and 3, where said kit comprises any of the triggers or probes of the invention. Additionally, this kit may include all the reactive agents, buffers, supports, etc. required for its development, without limitation.
Anaplasma/Ehrlichia
Anaplasma
A. phagocytophilum
Ehrlichia ruminantium
E. sennetsu
E. risticii
E. muris
A. platys
E. canis/E. ovina
Bartonella
B. talpae
B. phoceensis
B. rattimasiliensis
B. rochalimae
Bartonella sp.*
Bartonella sp.
sylvaticus
Bartobella sp
Bartonella sp.
ricinus 13
Bartonella sp.
ricinus 41
Brief explanation of Tables 2 and 3:
The present invention has allowed the development of an analysis method for the detection and identification of different bacterial genera and species using PCR or Multiple PCR technology. Methodology development required the analysis of intergenic space 16S-23S rRNA of genes 16S and msp2. These regions were analyzed combining different software applications and by comparison in databases, until the candidate regions susceptible to being used to apply the method were detected.
Said candidate regions were used to create a large number of triggers and probes, most of which, approximately 90%, were rejected after hybridization testing, until those which did not develop crossed reactivity with samples of different origin (
Below is a detailed description of the materials and methods used in the development of the present invention, in addition to representative examples thereof. These examples do not limit the invention, but rather illustrate it, demonstrating the efficiency of the method of the invention. The use of these and other examples anywhere in the specification is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the invention or of any exemplified form. Likewise, the invention is not limited to any particular preferred embodiments described herein. Indeed, modifications and variations of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification, and can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. The invention is therefore to be limited only by the terms of the claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled.
This step includes the experimental analysis of the variable regions detected earlier using PCR for their validation. The isolated DNA was amplified using PCR, applying the following temperature cycle table and reaction mixture composition, together with the specific triggers used previously for said purpose.
PCR reaction mixture composition for a final volume of 50 μL:
The amplicons were sequenced for their validation, verifying that the amplified sequence coincided with the variable sequences inferred from bioinformatic studies.
Subsequently, the amplicons were hybridized with specific probes according to the Reverse Line Blotting (RLB) protocol described by Sjoerd G. T. Rijpkema et al., Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 1995, p. 3091-3095, although applying the following modifications (
Hybridization results are shown in
One of the advantages of using PCR and RLB technology-based identification systems is that pure bacterial cultures are not required. In this manner and upon validation of the triggers and probes using DNA samples of the different species and subspecies listed in Tables 2 and 3, a Multiple PCR-based analysis of a DNA control mixture (
Detection of PCR inhibitors
An IAC, which was amplified together with target DNA, was created for the detection of PCR inhibitors, using specific triggers (Table 4) designed according to the preserved regions of the AB183705 sequence belonging to the THC synthase gene of the Cannabis sativa species. Specifically, the IAC amplicon corresponds to a sequence of 371 pairs of bases, for which a probe was also designed for detection during RLB.
C. sativa
C. sativa
The high specificity of this method is based on the design and selection of the triggers and probes used, which were tested with another series of organisms (Table 5), following the previously described method, verifying that the formation of amplicons (
Brucella melitensis
Chlamydia pneumoniae
Chlamydia psittaci
Legionella pneumophila
Leptospira interrogans
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Treponema pallidum
Orientia tsutsugamushi
Ixodes ricinus
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Apodemus sylvaticus
All references cited and/or discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200701830 | Jun 2007 | ES | national |
