2.5. Sensitivity and specificity testing
To determine the sensitivity of the PCR method
using primer pair (261F/R) for MBV DNA detec-
tion, 10-fold serial dilutions of purified plasmid
WS-1 containing the 261 PCR product were used
as DNA templates for PCR assay. The concentration
of plasmid DNA ranged from 10
10
to 1 copy per
reaction. In addition, we tested by PCR the pub-
lished protocols (OIE, 2003) for MBV using
infected tissue.
To check for the specificity of the primer pair
(261F/R), DNA from penaeid shrimp infected with