Application of specific primers in the diagnosis of Encephalitozoon spp.

In our experiment, 3 species-specific primer pairs cultivated in cell lines were used: Encephalitozoon cuniculi-specific primer pairs (ECUNF and ECUNR), Encephalitozoon hellem-specific primer pairs (EHELF and EHELR), and Encephalitozoon intestinalis-specific primer pairs (SINTF and SINTR). The PCR products were estimated to be 550 bp in E. cuniculi, 547 bp in E. hellem and 545 bp in E. intestinalis respectively, which can prove the precision and reliability of this method in the species identification of the genus Encephalitozoon. All 3 primer pairs were species-specific and none of them amplified gene sequences from other Encephalitozoon spp.