Characterization of trypanosome infections by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification in wild tsetse flies in Cameroon

Parasitology ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 547-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. MORLAIS ◽  
P. GREBAUT ◽  
J. M. BODO ◽  
S. DJOHA ◽  
G. CUNY

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was used to characterize trypanosome infections in tsetse flies from 3 sleeping sickness foci in Cameroon. The predominant tsetse species found was Glossina palpalis palpalis. An average infection rate of 12·1% was revealed by microscopical examination of 888 non-teneral tsetse flies. PCR amplification analyses for trypanosome identification were carried out on 467 flies, with primer sets specific for Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei s.l., T. (Duttonella) vivax, T. (Nannomonas) simiae and forest type T. (Nannomonas) congolense. Of 467 flies 93 were positive by microscopical analysis while PCR succeeded in identifying 89 positive flies. Of the PCR-positive flies 34 (38·2%) were negative by microscopical examination. PCR amplification, when compared to the parasitological technique, gave a higher estimate of infection rate of trypanosomes in natural tsetse populations. The PCR technique did, however, fail to identify 40·9% (38/93) of the parasitologically positive flies. The reasons for this failure are discussed. The overall prevalence of mixed infections, assessed by PCR, was 37·1%; the majority (72·7%) involved T. brucei and forest type T. congolense.

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 1205-1207 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Dakhama ◽  
V Macek ◽  
J C Hogg ◽  
R G Hegele

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a powerful method that allows enzymatic amplification of rate target nucleic acid sequences. It has been applied to the amplification of viral genomes from paraffin-embedded pathology specimens. However, interpretation of negative results requires amplification of a housekeeping gene such as beta-actin. In the present study we used specific oligonucleotide primers previously designed to amplify both the genomic DNA and the mRNA transcript from paraffin-embedded tissue. These products have predicted sizes of 250 BP and 154 BP, respectively, but our results showed that PCR amplification only (without reverse transcription) unexpectedly generated the 154-BP product. Further investigation of the nature of this product demonstrated that it originated from the amplification of DNA, not RNA. We conclude that the 154-BP product generated by these primers cannot be exclusively considered as beta-actin RNA product and should not be used to assess successful extraction of RNA, to ascertain its integrity, or to normalize for the total amount of RNA assayed by RT-PCR from paraffin-embedded tissue.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-364
Author(s):  
B. T. Chia ◽  
S.-A. Yang ◽  
M.-Y. Cheng ◽  
C.-W. Lin ◽  
Y.-J. Yang

ABSTRACTIn this paper, the development of a portable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) device is presented. Integrating electromagnetic mini-actuators for bi-directional fluid transport, the proposed device, whose dimension is 67mm × 66mm × 25mm, can be fully operated with a 5V DC voltage. The device consists of four major parts: A disposable channel chip in which PCR mixture is manipulated and reacted, a heater chip which generates different temperature zones for PCR reaction, a linear actuator array for pumping PCR mixture, and a circuit module for controlling and driving the system. The advantages of the device include the rapid temperature responses associated with continuous-flow-type PCR devices, as well as the programmable thermal cycling associated with chamber-type PCR devices. The thermal characteristics are measured and discussed. PCR amplification is successfully performed for the 122 bp segment of MCF-7/adr cell line. Due to its small footprint, this self-contained system potentially can be employed for point-of-care (POC) applications.


Author(s):  
Dwiyitno Dwiyitno ◽  
Stefan Hoffman ◽  
Koen Parmentier ◽  
Chris Van Keer

Fish and seafood products has been commonly targeted for fraudulent activities. For that reason, authentication of fish and seafood products is important to protect consumers from fraudulent and adulteration practices, as well as to implement traceability regulation. From the viewpoint of food safety, authenticity is beneficial to protect public from serious food poisoning incidents, such as due to ingestion of toxic species. Since DNA based identification depends on the nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the quantity and quality/purity of DNA will contribute significantly to the species authentication. In the present study, different DNA extraction and purification methods (3 classical methods and one commercial kit) were compared to produce the better isolated DNA for PCR amplification. Additionally, different methods for the estimation of DNA concentration and purity which is essential for PCR amplification efficiency were also evaluated. The result showed that classical DNA extraction methods (based on TNES-Urea) yielded a higher amount of DNA (11.30-323.60 ng/g tissue) in comparison to commercial kit/Wizard Promega (5.70-83.45 ng/g tissue). Based on the purity of DNA extract (A260/280), classical DNA extraction method produced relatively similar on DNA quality to the commercial kit (1.79-2.12). Interestingly, all classical methods produced DNA with A260/280 ratio of more than 2.00 on the blue mussel, in contrast with commercial kit. The commercial kit also produced better quality of DNA compared to the classical methods, showing the higher efficiency in PCR amplification. NanoDrop is promising as cheap, robust and safe UV-spectrophotometer method for DNA quantification, as well as the purity evaluation.Keywords: seafood authenticity, DNA isolation, polymerase chain reaction, NanoDrop, Picogreen


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
V. Zyuzin ◽  
◽  
O. Tuzova ◽  
U. Frenkel ◽  
Muntian L. ◽  
...  

The purpose of the study. The article covers the issues of genotyping of listeria by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its epidemiological significance. It is known that molecular genetic methods allow to detect specific microbial pathogens, virulence markers, antimicrobial resistance genes faster and with greater sensitivity than traditional culture methods. Therefore, the development of detection methods and genotyping by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is relevant. Materials and methods. For the detection and genotyping of Listeria, the technology of DNA chips is becoming increasingly important, which can significantly expand the possibilities of molecular detection. Chip technology can be used to simultaneously identify a whole range of pathogenic microorganisms, to determine genetic virulence markers, the relationship to antibiotics, subtyping, as well as to determine the quality of microorganisms in samples. A simplified version of DNA chip technology is multiplex (numerical) PCR, which is used to detect and genotype listeria. Studies have shown that to detect Listeria spp. using a polymerase chain reaction, it is advisable to use the gene iap (invasive associated protein), known for 6 species of listeria, which encodes a protein P 60 that is common to all species of listeria, including L.murrayi. Computer analysis revealed areas with 100% homology, from which primers were selected for PCR detection of all types of listeria. Areas of genomes characterized by 100% homology were selected for further analysis and labeling of primer sets. The sequences of the constructed primers List 1 and List 2 allowed to identify 6 species of Listeria (L. monocytogenes, L. innocua, L. ivanovii, L. grayi, L. seeligeri, L. welshimeri). Increasing the length of the primer leads to the increasing of specificity of PCR analysis. The greater the length of the primer, the smaller the specific gravity of one error of the unpaired nucleotide. The degree of primer homology is a key parameter that indicates the "quality" of a set of primers. Results and discussion. It is established that a significant disadvantage of the vast majority diagnosed using PCR test systems is the lack of internal control of amplification. The negative result of PCR analysis may be due to the absence in the clinical material of a fragment of the Listeria genome, and the fact that the PCR product was not synthesized for other reasons. They may be as the following ones: operator errors, erroneously determined reaction mixture concentrations and PCR temperature parameters. False-negative results can also be caused by factors that inhibit thermostable DNA polymerase. In its turn, such inhibition of the enzyme responsible for amplification is caused by a very large amount of DNA - template, pre-treatment of clinical samples. It has been shown that 80% of clinical specimens contain a substance that inhibits DNA polymerase. Therefore, it is necessary to use internal control, the positive result of the reaction of which indicates the successful amplification, that is the absence of false positive results. Conclusion. There are several reasons why the accuracy of PCR analysis does not reach 100%. Accuracy depends on the technology (variety) of PCR - the method used (ordinary or fluorescent), detection of amplicons, PCR homogeneous or nested, nested in one test tube or in two test tubes, as well as the level of quality of the survey (primarily on the technical parameters of the amplifier). The test systems used can be used for PCR detection and are recommended as standard primer sets for the detection and cross-species testing of listeria, which is important for the timely implementation of appropriate anti-epidemic measures in listeriosis


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