Comparison of ITS-1 and TBR-1/2 Primer Sensitivity for the Detection of Local Isolates in Experimental Rats Using a Polymerase Chain Reaction

Background And Aim: Surra is caused by . The detection method using conventional parasitological tests has not always shown positive results in blood parasite detection, although the livestock has presented with clinical signs. Therefore, a fast and accurate diagnosis is necessary to prevent the disease predominately in field isolates. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity of molecular detection method using two different specific primers, namely, Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS-1) and repeat 1/2 (TBR-1/2) against field isolates from Banten Province, Indonesia.

Materials And Methods: The isolates of used in this study were collected from Banten Province and cultured and preserved by the National Research Center for Veterinary Science, Indonesia. Eighteen experimental rats were divided into three equal groups, which were categorized as control, 1 × 10, and 1 × 10 infective doses. The isolates were injected into all experimental albino rats intraperitoneally. All samples were tested using conventional blood smear, card agglutination test (CATT), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

Results: The results of the CATT examination in all treatments showed negative results. However, PCR results showed that two different primers, namely, ITS-1 and TBR-1/2 had been successfully detected from infected experimental rats, proven by positive PCR band appeared in 480 base pairs (bp) and 164 bp, respectively.

Conclusion: Based on the molecular diagnostic test using PCR method, TBR-1/2 primer is more sensitive to detect compared to ITS-1 primer. The present finding provides preliminary data for studying the efficiency of different primers if practically applied as a standard diagnostic test for trypanosomiasis, especially in Indonesian livestock.