The cientificWorldJOURNAL Research Article

Copyright © 2012 Cristina Román Amigo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Actinobaculum suis is an important agent related to urinary infection in swine females. Due to its fastidious growth characteristics, the isolation of this anaerobic bacterium is difficult, thus impairing the estimation of its prevalence. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection and identification of A. suis and then compare these results with traditional isolation methods. Bacterial isolation and PCR were performed on one hundred and ninety-two urine samples from sows and forty-five preputial swabs from boars. The results indicate that this PCR was specific for A. suis, presenting a detection limit between 1.0 × 101 CFU/mL and 1.0 × 102 CFU/mL. A. suis frequencies, as measured by PCR, were 8.9 % (17/192) in sow urine samples and 82.2 % (37/45) in preputial swabs. Assessed using conventional culturing techniques, none of the urine samples were positive for A. suis; however, A. suis was detected in 31.1 % (14/45) of the swabs. This PCR technique was shown t