RESUMO
A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed to rapidly detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The assay, based on multiple primer and probe sets located in different regions of the SARS-CoV genome, could discriminate SARS-CoV from other human and animal coronaviruses with a potential detection limit of <10 genomic copies per reaction. The real-time RT-PCR assay was more sensitive than a conventional RT-PCR assay or culture isolation and proved suitable to detect SARS-CoV in clinical specimens. Application of this assay will aid in diagnosing SARS-CoV infection.
Assuntos
Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Coronavírus Relacionado à Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave/genética , Coronavírus Relacionado à Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Chlorocebus aethiops , Primers do DNA/genética , DNA Viral/genética , Humanos , RNA Viral/genética , RNA Viral/isolamento & purificação , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa/estatística & dados numéricos , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave/diagnóstico , Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave/epidemiologia , Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave/virologia , Células VeroRESUMO
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged, in November 2002, as a novel agent causing severe respiratory illness. To study sequence variation in the SARS-CoV genome, we determined the nucleic acid sequence of the S and N genes directly from clinical specimens from 10 patients--1 specimen with no matched SARS-CoV isolate, from 2 patients; multiple specimens from 3 patients; and matched clinical-specimen/cell-culture-isolate pairs from 6 patients. We identified 3 nucleotide substitutions that were most likely due to natural variation and 2 substitutions that arose after cell-culture passage of the virus. These data demonstrate the overall stability of the S and N genes of SARS-CoV over 3 months during which a minimum of 4 generations for transmission events occurred. These findings are a part of the expanding investigation of the evolution of how this virus adapts to a new host.