PLoS ONE (Jan 2013)

Distinguishing body lice from head lice by multiplex real-time PCR analysis of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene.

  • Rezak Drali,
  • Amina Boutellis,
  • Didier Raoult,
  • Jean Marc Rolain,
  • Philippe Brouqui

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058088
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 2
p. e58088

Abstract

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BackgroundBody louse or head louse? Once removed from their environment, body and head lice are indistinguishable. Neither the morphological criteria used since the mid-18th century nor the various genetic studies conducted since the advent of molecular biology tools have allowed body lice and head lice to be differentiated. In this work, using a portion of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene from the body louse, we aimed to develop a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to differentiate between body and head lice in a single reaction.Materials and methodsA total of 142 human lice were collected from mono-infested hosts from 13 countries on five continents. We first identified the louse clade using a cytochrome b (CYTB) PCR sequence alignment. We then aligned a fragment of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene amplified from head and body lice to design-specific TaqMan(©) FAM- and VIC-labeled probes.ResultsAll the analyzed lice were Clade A lice. A total of 22 polymorphisms between the body and head lice were characterized. The multiplex real-time PCR analysis enabled the body and head lice to be distinguished in two hours. This method is simple, with 100% specificity and sensitivity.ConclusionsWe confirmed that the Phum_PHUM540560 gene is a useful genetic marker for the study of lice.