Low-stringency single specific primer PCR for identification of Leptospira

Thirty-five Leptospira serovars from the species Leptospira interrogans, Leptospira borgpetersenii, Leptospira santarosai, Leptospira kirschneri, Leptospira weilii, Leptospira biflexa and Leptospira meyeri were characterized by the low-stringency single specific primer PCR (LSSP-PCR) technique. LSSP-PCR analysis was performed to detect DNA polymorphisms in a 285 bp DNA fragment amplified from genomic DNA with G1 and G2 selected primers. Similar LSSP-PCR profiles were obtained for serovars from the same genomic species, while serovars from non-related species produced distinct multiband patterns. Based on the data from sequence analysis, all genomic fragments amplified with G1 and G2 primers from distinct serovars of Leptospira were 285 bp in length, with nucleotide variation observed most frequently among different genomic species. The simplicity and accuracy of the LSSP-PCR technique were found to be suitable for identification of Leptospira species.