Genotype-Specific Detection of Ferret Coronavirus by Conventional and Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction

Ferret coronavirus is associated with two disease presentations in ferrets, namely, epizootic catarrhal enteritis and a feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)-like systemic disease. In this chapter, we describe conventional and real-time one-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays that are routinely used in our laboratory to detect either genotype 1 or genotype 2 ferret coronavirus in clinical specimens. These assays were designed based upon the conserved spike gene sequence difference found between three strains of ferret systemic coronavirus and three strains of ferret enteric coronavirus. Recent literature evidence indicates that pathotype is not associated with a specific genotype, and therefore, it is important to test for both genotypes either in enteric or systemic disease.