Detection of anthrax vaccine virulence factors by polymerase chain reaction

In Italy, an attenuated Bacillus anthracis strain, named `Carbosap', is use d for immunization against ovine and bovine anthrax. Analysis on `Carbosap' , Sterne vaccine strain F34 and Pasteur vaccine strain SS104, were performe d using primers specific for the sequences, encoding the toxic factors, loc ated on plasmids pXO1 and pXO2 and primers specific for the chromosome. The results obtained from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay revealed the p resence of both plasmids pXO1 and pXO2 in `Carbosap' strain. This study sho wed that the `Carbosap' vaccine strain has a different plasmid pattern in c omparison to Pasteur vaccine strain SS104 and Sterne vaccine strain F34. (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.