Zoologix performs primate infectious disease tests by PCR for...

Adenoviruses

African green monkey endogenous virus

Aspergillus

B virus

Babesia

Baboon endogenous virus

Baylisascaris procyonis

Borrelia burgdorferi

Burkholderia

Campylobacter

Chagas' disease

Chikungunya virus

Chlamydia pneumoniae

Chlamydophila trachomatis

Clostridium

Coccidioides

Cronobacter sakazakii

Cryptosporidium

Cynomolgus polyomavirus

Cytomegalovirus, baboon

Cytomegalovirus, chimpanzee

Cytomegalovirus, human

Cytomegalovirus, macaque

Cytomegalovirus, simian

Dengue

E. coli O157:H7

E. coli panel

Encephalitis, Japanese

Encephalitis, St. Louis

Encephalomyocarditis (EMCV)

Entamoeba species

Enterovirus

Epstein-Barr virus

Giardia

Gibbon ape leukemia

Helicobacter

Hepatitis A virus

Hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis C virus

Herpes ateles

Herpes B virus

Herpes simplex type 1

Herpes simplex type 2

Herpes tamarinus

Herpesvirus ateles

Herpesvirus papio 1 & 2

Herpesvirus saimiri

Human adenoviruses

Human herpesviruses types 6, 7 & 8

Human immunodeficiency virus types 1 & 2

Human T cell lymphotropic virus

Human Varicella-Zoster

Influenza type A

Klebsiella

Lawsonia intracellularis

Leishmania

Leptospira

Lyme disease

Lymphocryptovirus

Malaria

Measles

Monkeypox

Mycobacteria

Mycoplasma

Neisseria gonorhoeae

Neisseria meningitidis

Papillomavirus

Parvoviruses

Plasmodium species

Reovirus screen

Rhesus rhadinovirus

Rotavirus

Salmonella

Shigella and enteroinvasive E. coli

Simian agent 6 (SA6)

Simian agent 8 (SA8)

Simian foamy virus (SFV)

Simian hemorrhagic fever (SHFV)

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)

Simian parainfluenza virus

Simian retrovirus (SRV)

Simian sarcoma virus

Simian T-cell leukemia (STLV) types 1 & 2

Simian T-cell leukemia (STLV) type 3

Simian Varicella-Zoster

Squirrel monkey retrovirus

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pyogenes

SV40

SV5

Syphilis

Tetanus

Toxoplasma gondii

Treponema

Trichomonas/
Tritrichomonas

Trypanosoma cruzi

Tuberculosis

Ureaplasma

Valley fever

West Nile virus (WNV)

Yaws

Yellow fever

Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Zika virus

* * *

Genetic tests for...

A/B/AB blood type in macaques

Cynomolgus genotyping

Fetal sexing

Mamu-6 in macaques

Mamu-7 in macaques

CYP2C76 c.449TG>A
in macaques

Mu opioid receptor
in macaques

smCCR5Δ24
in sooty mangabeys

...and more - contact Zoologix with your genetic testing requirements


Klebsiella PCR test for primates

primate assay data sheet

Klebsiella pneumoniae (including virulence factors magA and rmpA)

Test code:
B0060 - Qualitative ultrasensitive detection of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria by real time polymerase chain reaction.  This assay detects and differentiates a genomic target and two virulence factors, magA and rmpA.

Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae. These organisms are nonmotile, rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria with a prominent polysaccharide capsule. This capsule encases the entire cell surface and gives the bacterium a large appearance on gram stain; it also imparts resistance against many host defense mechanisms.

Members of the Klebsiella genus typically express 2 types of antigens on their cell surface. One is a lipopolysaccharide (O antigen); the other is a capsular polysaccharide (K antigen). Both of these antigens contribute to pathogenicity of the bacteria in this genus. Approximately 9 O antigens and 77 K antigens exist. The structural variability of these antigens forms the basis for classification of the bacteria into various serotypes. Nevertheless, there are no specific correlations of the various serotypes with pathogenicity.

Besides Klebsiella pneumoniae, the Klebsiella genus also contains Klebsiella ozaenae, Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella planticola, Klebsiella terrigena, and Klebsiella ornithinolytica. All these bacteria have very similar DNA homology. K pneumoniae is the most medically important species of the group, but K. oxytoca and K. rhinoscleromatis have also been found in human clinical specimens.

Klebsiellae can be found in the environment and have widespread occurrence. In humans, they may colonize the skin, pharynx or gastrointestinal tract. They may also colonize sterile wounds and urine. Many animals and humans are asymptomatic carriers. Klebsiellae may even be regarded as normal flora in parts of the colon, intestinal tract and biliary tract. Oropharyngeal carriage has been associated with endotracheal intubation, impaired host defenses, and antimicrobial use.

On culture, K. pneumoniae produces large, sticky colonies on an agar plate. Some strains of K. pneumoniae possess a “hypermucoviscosity” phenotype; this phenotype is related to higher pathogenicity. The expression of this hypermucoviscosity phenotype is determined by the presence of several genes, including magA (mucoviscosity-associated gene A) and rmpA (regulator of the mucoid phenotype A). The hypermucoviscosity phenotype of K. pneumoniae can be classified as capsular serotypes K1 or K2. K1 serotypes of K. pneumoniae have rmpA and magA. K2 serotypes of K. pneumoniae have rmpA but not magA. Studies have shown that while magA presents exclusively in the K1 capsular serotype, rmpA can be detected in either K1 or K2 capsular serotypes and also in approximately two-thirds of non-K1/K2 capsular serotypes. Capsular serotypes K1 and K2 are reported to play an important role in the invasive ability of K. pneumoniae (Yeh et al., 2007). In some studies, the presence of magA is linked to liver abscess formation (Fang et al., 2004).

Culture detection of K. pneumoniae is of limited value because the method cannot reliably differentiate pathogenic strains from nonpathogenic Klebsiella bacteria present as normal flora in the body. Although hypermucoviscosity can be assessed by a “string test,” the test is highly subjective and can lead to false results. Furthermore, culture identification cannot definitively identify the presence of magA and rmpA which are important in determining pathogenic potential of the bacteria. Molecular detection not only provides rapid, sensitive and specific identification of the bacteria, but can also accurately determine the presence of these virulence factors.

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae infection
  • Help ensure colonies are free of Klebsiella pneumoniae
  • Differentiate virulent from non-virulent Klebsiella pneumoniae strains
  • Identify magA and rmpA virulence factors in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains
  • Early prevention of spread of these bacteria among a facility
  • Minimize human exposure to these bacteria
  • Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive from primates

References:
Fang, C.T., Chuang, Y.P., Shun, C.T., Chang, S.C. and Wang, J.T. (2004) A novel virulence gene in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains causing primary liver abscess and septic metastatic complications. J. Exp. Med. 199:697–705.
Yeh, K.M., Kurup, A., Siu, L.K., Koh, Y.L., Fung, C.P., Lin, J.C., Chen, T.L., Chang, F.Y. and Koh, T.H.(2007) Capsular serotype K1 or K2, rather than magA and rmpA, is a major virulence determinant for Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess in Singapore and Taiwan. J Clin Microbiol 45:466–471.

Specimen requirement:

Preferred specimens - Rectal swab, or oral swab, or 0.2 ml feces, or 0.2 ml bacterial culture.

Less preferred specimen - 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube.

Contact Zoologix if advice is needed to determine an appropriate specimen type for a specific diagnostic application. For specimen types not listed here, please contact Zoologix to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.

For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 3 business days

Methodology: Qualitative real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

©2003-2024 Zoologix, Inc. • Email Zoologix • Phone (818) 717-8880