Characteristics of Molecular-Genetic Properties of Plague Agent Strains - Promising for Application with Educational Purposes

Abstract

Training of specialists in advanced methods of plague laboratory diagnostics and in the safety of works with its agent is associated with the necessity to select strains for educational purposes, allowing for the reduction of risk of laboratory infection at tutorials. Deployment of avirulent strains or those with attenuated virulence is the guiding principle in the case. Objective of the study is to detect basic virulence genes of chromosomal and plasmid localization in plague agent strains - candidates to be used for educational purposes. Materials and methods. Utilized have been 18 strains of Yersinia pestis . Investigations have been carried out with the help of reagent panel for identification of Y. pestis strains using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with hybridization-fluorescent registration of results (“Gene Yersinia pestis Identification - HFR”). Results and discussion. In the course of the study, the strains, selected as the prospective ones, have been characterized by composition of the key virulence genes of chromosomal and plasmid localization. The operation has been performed by means of the reagent panel for identification of Y. pestis strains using RT-PCR with hybridization-fluorescent registration of results. Consequently to the assessment of molecular-genetic properties of plague agent strains, distinguished have been genetic variants (the genome of which lacks one or more key virulence determinants) which are the most relevant in the reduction of biological risks of training technologies at tutorials within the frames of the educational course “Microbiology and laboratory diagnostics of plague”.

Keywords

• пцр-анализ
• yersinia pestis
• учебные штаммы
• биологическая безопасность
• pcr-analysis
• strains used for educational purposes
• biological safety