Cultural isolation and PCR-based identification of Bacillus anthracis isolates from western region of India

In the present study, Bacillus anthracis was isolated on blood agar from post-mortem samples collected from two different outbreaks at one year interval in sheep and goat flocks of western region of India. The identities of the isolates were confirmed by conventional cultural techniques and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Products of expected size were amplified after PCR using specific primers targeting cya gene, capsule gene, S-layer chromosomal region and a B. anthracis specific chromosomal marker - Ba813 (929, 846, 639 and 168 bp, respectively), which confirmed the identity of the isolates and also underlines the significance of this molecular technique in the rapid and specific diagnosis of potentially zoonotic infectious agent in comparison to conventional culture techniques.