[16S rRNA reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of leptospires]

We amplified the leptospiral RNAs of Leptospira interrogans serovar lai strain Lai and L. biflexa serovar patoc strain Patoc I, extracted by the method of SiO2-high concentration salt solution (8 mol/L GuHCl) absorption, with the 16S rRNA gene primers of Leptospira interrogans by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It demonstrated that the detecting sensitivity by naked eye after electrophoresis could be 100 times higher when we amplified DNA and RNA of leptospires at the same time by RT-PCR.