Bacteriophage MS2 (5E10 pfu/ml), 1.0 ML

BACTERIOPHAGE MS2 (5E10 pfu/ml), 1.0 ML

Bacteriophage MS2 is manufactured in E. coli to high quality and diluted in SM buffer at two different titers, 1E9 pfu/ml and 5E10 pfu/ml. This product can be used as an in process control in nucleic acid based assays.

PRODUCT DETAILS – BACTERIOPHAGE MS2 (5E10 pfu/ml), 1.0 ML

• Bacteriophage MS2 5E10 pfu/ml is produced in E. coli and diluted in SM buffer.
• The titer was determined before the freeze-down of product.
• Titer can vary up to 40% from batch to batch.
• Bacteriophage MS2 is a biosafety level 1 microorganism.

BACKGROUND

Bacteriophage MS2 is an RNA virus that infects the bacterium Escherichia coli and other members of the Enterobacteriaceae. MS2 bacteriophage belongs to Leviviridae family and its 3,569 nt single strand RNA genome encodes four proteins: (i) the maturase, involved in the infection through the E. coli pilus; (ii) the coat protein, which self-assembles in an icosaedric shape formed by 180 monomers; (iii) the lysis protein, involved in the bacterial cell lysis; and (iv) the replicase protein, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP)(Fiers et al. 1976).

Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR diagnostic systems are widely used for the detection of viral genomes in different human specimens. The application of internal controls to monitor each step of nucleic acid amplification is necessary to prevent false-negative results due to inhibition or human error (Dreier et al., 2005). The ideal control should be a nucleic acid protected from degradation by nucleases or hydrolysis that is subjected to exactly the same steps as a viral particle. MS2 has been used as a process control for a number of different viral assays. The MS2 genome is protected from RNases, is easily handled with basic molecular biology techniques, and is non-pathogenic to humans, requiring no extra care regarding biological safety in addition to those necessary to work with E. coli (Zambenedetti et al., 2017). Due to its structural similarities to noroviruses, and non-pathogenicity to humans, has also been used as substitute for noroviruses in studies of disease transmission.

REFERENCES

• • Dreier J, Störmer M, Kleesiek K. Use of bacteriophage MS2 as an internal control in viral reverse transcription-PCR assays. J Clin Microbiol. 2005 Sep;43(9):4551-7.
  • Fiers W, Contreras R, Duerinck F, Haegeman G, Iserentant D, Merregaert J, et al. Complete nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage MS2 RNA: primary and secondary structure of the replicase gene. Nature. 1976; 260: 500-7.
  • Zambenedetti MR, Pavoni DP, Dallabona AC, et al. Internal control for real-time polymerase chain reaction based on MS2 bacteriophage for RNA viruses diagnostics. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2017;112(5):339-347.