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Identification of Flavobacterium and Flexibacter Species by Species‐Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction Primers to the 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene
Author(s) -
Bader Joel A.,
Shotts Emmett B.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of aquatic animal health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1548-8667
pISSN - 0899-7659
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8667(1998)010<0311:iofafs>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - biology , 16s ribosomal rna , ribosomal rna , polymerase chain reaction , flavobacterium , primer (cosmetics) , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , bacteria , pseudomonas , chemistry , organic chemistry
Species‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers have been developed for the identification of the causative agents of warmwater and marine finrot in fish: Flavobacterium columnare ( Flexibacter columnaris ) and Flexibacter maritimus. Differences in gene sequence in the bacterial small‐subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) were used to design the species‐specific PCR primers. The previously reported species‐specific PCR primers Psy1 and Psy2 for the identification of Flavobacterium psychrophilum ( Flexibacter psychrophila ), the causative agent of coldwater finrot, were also used to develop a speciation scheme for all three bacterial finrots. These three primer sets were successful in discriminating among yellow‐pigmented bacteria as well as in speciating the three major pathogenic flexibacteria to fish. The primer sets were designed to produce uniquely sized subproducts of 16S rRNA for each species: Flavobacterium psychrophilum (1,100 base pairs, bp), F. columnare (800 bp), and Flexibacter maritimus (400 bp). These primers were shown to correctly speciate field isolates in double‐blind experiments ( P = 0.01).