Identification of chlamydial species in crocodiles and chickens by PCR-HRM curve analysis

Abstract

Recently, a PCR protocol (16SG), targeting 16S rRNA gene coupled with high resolution melt (HRM) curve analysis was developed in our laboratory and shown to reliably detect and identify the seven different Chlamydiaceae spp. In this study, the potential of this method was assessed for detection and differentiation of Chlamydiosis in clinical specimens. Of the total number of 733 specimens from a range of animal species, 219 (30%) were found positive by 16SG PCR. When a sufficient amount of DNA was available (64 submissions), amplicons generated by the 16SG PCR were subjected to HRM curve analysis and results were compared to that of nucleotide sequencing. In all instances, the infecting Chla..