Quantification of human polyomaviruses JC Virus and BK Virus by TaqMan quantitative PCR and comparison to other water quality indicators in water and fecal samples.

ABSTRACT: In the United States, total maximum daily load standards for bodies of water that do not meet bacterial water quality standards are set by each state. The presence of human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) can be used as an indicator of human-associated sewage pollution in these waters. We have developed and optimized a TaqMan quantitative PCR (QPCR) assay based on the conserved T antigen to both quantify and simultaneously detect two HPyVs; JC virus and BK virus. The QPCR assay was able to consistently quantify > or =10 gene copies per reaction and is linear over 5 orders of magnitude. HPyVs were consistently detected in human waste samples (57 of 64) and environmental waters with known human fecal contamination (5 of 5) and were not amplified in DNA extracted from 127 animal waste samples from 14

SUBMITTER: McQuaig SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2687276 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature