Optimized real-time fluorescence PCR assay for the detection of porcine Circovirus type 3 (PCV3)

BACKGROUND: Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) has been an emerging porcine virus spread around the world. The conserved DNA sequence of PCV3 enabled good performance in molecular biological assays. RESULT: In this study, we developed a real-time fluorescence PCR assay for the detection of PCV3. The conserved region within Capsid genome of PCV3 was selected for the design of primer pairs and probes. After optimizing, a primer pair and probe was screened, providing high sensitivity (10 copies/μL) and specificity (no cross reaction with other porcine viruses or common bacterium). In addition, this method was applied in the detection of 110 clinical samples, and the performance was compared with other previously reported PCR and real-time PCR methods. This method provided higher detection rate. CONCLUSION: A real-time fluorescence PCR assay has been developed for the detection of PCV3, with high sensitivity and specificity, exhibiting good performance in detecting clinical samples.