DETECTION OF NEWLY RECOGNIZED RODENT PARVOVIRUSES BY PCR

Several autonomous parvovirus isolates distinct from the prototypic ro dent parvoviruses have recently been identified. These include variant s of a mouse orphan parvovirus (MOPV) and a hamster isolate designated hamster orphan parvovirus (HOPV). In this study, a PCR primer set spe cific for these newly identified rodent parvoviruses was designed on t he basis of DNA sequence comparisons of these isolates with other auto nomous parvoviruses. The specificity of the primer set was determined by testing viral preparations of seven different parvoviruses and eigh t other viruses known to infect rodents. The PCR essay amplified the e xpected 260-bp product only in the presence of DNA from MOPV, HOPV, or LuIII, a parvovirus of unknown species origin. The assay was able to detect as little as 10 pg of MOPV viral DNA or 1 pg of HOPV viral DNA, and it was able to detect MOPV in tissues from naturally infected mic e and HOPV in tissues from experimentally infected hamsters. In contra st, the 260-bp product was not amplified from tissues of MOPV-negative mice or mock-infected hamsters. Our findings indicate that this PCR a ssay provides a rapid, specific, and sensitive method for the detectio n of MOPV in mice, HOPV in hamsters, and MOPV and HOPV in cell culture systems and that it may also be useful for the detection of LuIII con tamination of cell culture systems.