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. 2020 Dec 17;59(1):e01434-20.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01434-20. Print 2020 Dec 17.

Evaluation of the Biotoxis qPCR Detection Kit for Francisella tularensis Detection in Clinical and Environmental Samples

Aurélie Hennebique  1   2 , Fabienne Gas  3 , Hélène Batina  3 , Cécilia De Araujo  4 , Karine Bizet  4 , Max Maurin  5   2
Affiliations

Evaluation of the Biotoxis qPCR Detection Kit for Francisella tularensis Detection in Clinical and Environmental Samples

Aurélie Hennebique et al. J Clin Microbiol. .

Abstract

Rapid and reliable detection and identification of Francisella tularensis (a tier 1 select agent) are of primary interest for both medical and biological threat surveillance purposes. The Biotoxis qPCR detection kit is a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay designed for the detection of Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, and F. tularensis in environmental or biological samples. Here, we evaluated its performance for detecting F. tularensis in comparison to previously validated qPCR assays. The Biotoxis qPCR was positive for 87/87 F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type B) strains but also for F. tularensis subsp. novicida It was negative for Francisella philomiragia and 24/24 strains belonging to other bacterial species. For 31 tularemia clinical specimens, the Biotoxis qPCR displayed a sensitivity between 90.32% and 96.55%, compared to qPCR tests targeting ISFtu2 or a type B-specific DNA sequence, respectively. All 30 nontularemia clinical specimens were Biotoxis qPCR negative. For water samples, the Biotoxis qPCR limit of detection was 1,000 CFU/liter of F. tularensis For 57 environmental water samples collected in France, the Biotoxis qPCR was positive for 6/15 samples positive for ISFtu2 qPCR and 4/4 positive for type B qPCR. In conclusion, the Biotoxis qPCR detection kit demonstrated good performances for F. tularensis detection in various biological and environmental samples, although cross-amplification of F. tularensis subsp. novicida must be considered. This plate format assay could be useful to test a large number of clinical or environmental specimens, especially in the context of natural or intentional tularemia outbreaks.

Keywords: Francisella tularensis; diagnosis; real-time PCR; tularemia.

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