scholarly journals Development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection of Tilletia controversa based on genome comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Somayyeh Sedaghatjoo ◽  
Monika K. Forster ◽  
Ludwig Niessen ◽  
Petr Karlovsky ◽  
Berta Killermann ◽  
...  

AbstractTilletia controversa causing dwarf bunt of wheat is a quarantine pathogen in several countries. Therefore, its specific detection is of great phytosanitary importance. Genomic regions routinely used for phylogenetic inferences lack suitable polymorphisms for the development of species-specific markers. We therefore compared 21 genomes of six Tilletia species to identify DNA regions that were unique and conserved in all T. controversa isolates and had no or limited homology to other Tilletia species. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for T. controversa was developed based on one of these DNA regions. The specificity of the assay was verified using 223 fungal samples comprising 43 fungal species including 11 Tilletia species, in particular 39 specimens of T. controversa, 92 of T. caries and 40 of T. laevis, respectively. The assay specifically amplified genomic DNA of T. controversa from pure cultures and teliospores. Only Tilletia trabutii generated false positive signals. The detection limit of the LAMP assay was 5 pg of genomic DNA per reaction. A test performance study that included five laboratories in Germany resulted in 100% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity of the assay. Genomic regions, specific to common bunt (Tilletia caries and Tilletia laevis together) are also provided.

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiayan Pan ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Junjie Yu ◽  
Mina Yu ◽  
Huijuan Cao ◽  
...  

Rice false smut (RFS), caused by Villosiclava virens, is an important fungal disease in panicle of rice. V. virens is a heterothallic ascomycete that controlled by two opposite idiomorphs, MAT1-1 and MAT1-2. Previous study showed sexual reproduction of V. virens plays an important role in the epidemic of RFS. In this study, we have developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect mating type of V. virens easily and rapidly by using specific primers designed on the mating type genes MAT1-1-2 and MAT1-2-1, respectively. The LAMP assay required only a water/dry bath and could recognize the mating type of V. virens in just 45 min. The LAMP assay was so sensitive that could detect small amounts of V. virens genomic DNA (as low as 2.0 pg of MAT1-1, and 200.0 pg of MAT1-2), which was 10-fold more sensitive than polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, the application of mating type using LAMP assay was demonstrated feasibly by assessing the genomic DNA of V. virens isolated from rice fields. The high efficiency and specificity of this LAMP assay suggested it can be used as a rapid testing tool in mating type recognition of V. virens isolates in the field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuzhi Zhang ◽  
Qianqian Yang ◽  
Qingli Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Jiang ◽  
Xiaochun Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract The cytochrome cd1-containing nitrite reductase, nirS, plays an important role in biological denitrification. Consequently, investigating the presence and abundance of nirS is a commonly used approach to understand the distribution and potential activity of denitrifying bacteria, in addition to denitrifier communities. Herein, a rapid method for detecting nirS gene with loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed, using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 (P. aeruginosa PAO1) as model microorganism to optimize the assay. The LAMP assay relied on a set of four primers that were designed to recognize six target sequence sites, resulting in high target specificity. The limit of detection for the LAMP assay under optimized conditions was 1.87 pg/reaction of genomic DNA, which was an order of magnitude lower than that required by conventional PCR assays. Moreover, it was validated that P. aeruginosa PAO1 cells as well as genomic DNA could be directly used as template. Only 1 h was needed from the addition of bacterial cells to the reaction to the verification of amplification success. The nirS gene of P. aeruginosa PAO1 in spiked seawater samples could be detected with both DNA-template based LAMP assay and cell-template based LAMP assay, demonstrating the practicality of in-field use.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianqian Yang ◽  
Xuzhi Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Jiang ◽  
Xiaochun Wang ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
...  

AbstractThe cytochromecd1-containing nitrite reductase,nirS, plays an important role in biological denitrification. Consequently, investigating the presence and abundance ofnirSis a commonly used approach to understand the distribution and potential activity of denitrifying bacteria, in addition to denitrifier communities. Herein, a new molecular biology technique termed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed to rapidly detectnirSgene using those ofPseudomonas aeruginosato optimize the assay. The LAMP assay relied on a set of four primers that were designed to recognize six target sequence sites, resulting in high target specificity. The specificity of the assay was confirmed by the lack of amplification when using DNA from 15 other bacterial species lackingnirSgene. The limit of detection for the LAMP assay under optimized conditions was 1.87 pg/reaction of genomic DNA, which was an order of magnitude lower than that required by conventional PCR assays. Moreover, a cell-template based LAMP assay was also developed for detectingnirSgene that directly used bacterial cells as template rather than genomic DNA. Only 1 h was needed from the addition of bacterial cells to the reaction to the verification of amplification success, and bulky and sophisticated equipment were not needed. Further, thenirSgene ofP. aeruginosain spiked seawater samples could be detected with both the DNA-template based LAMP assay and the cell-template based LAMP assay, thereby demonstrating the practicality of in-field use of them. In summary, the LAMP assays described here represent a rapid, user-friendly, and cost-effective alternative to conventional PCR.


Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (12) ◽  
pp. 3002-3008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Yang ◽  
Yong-Jie Qi ◽  
Mohamed N. Al-Attala ◽  
Zheng-Hui Gao ◽  
Xing-Kai Yi ◽  
...  

Alternaria species are the most important fungal pathogens that attack various crops as well as fruit trees such as pear and cause black spot disease. Here, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay is developed for the detection of Alternaria species. A. alternata cytochrome b (cyt-b) gene was used to design two pairs of primers and amplified a 229-bp segment of Aacyt-b gene. The results showed that LAMP assay is faster and simpler than polymerase chain reaction (PCR). LAMP assay is highly sensitive method for the detection of about 1 pg of genomic DNA of A. alternata by using optimized concentration of MgCl2(4 mM) in final LAMP reaction. In contrast, the limit of detection was 1 ng of target DNA via conventional PCR. Among the genomic DNA of 46 fungal species, only the tubes containing DNA of Alternaria spp. except A. porri, A. solani, and A. infectoria changed color from orange to yellowish green with SYBR Green I including the main pathogens of pear black spot. The yellowish green color was indicative of DNA amplification. Moreover, LAMP assay was used for testing infected tissues among 22 healthy and diseased pear tissues; the orange color changed to yellowish green for infected tissues only. Altogether, we conclude that cyt-b gene can be used for the detection of Alternaria spp. via LAMP assay, which is involved in pear black spot disease.


Author(s):  
Johannes Köck ◽  
Christoph Gottschalk ◽  
Sebastian Ulrich ◽  
Karin Schwaiger ◽  
Manfred Gareis ◽  
...  

AbstractCytotoxic macrocyclic trichothecenes such as satratoxins are produced by chemotype S strains of Stachybotrys chartarum. Diseases such as stachybotryotoxicosis in animals and the sick building syndrome as a multifactorial disease complex in humans have been associated with this mold and its toxins. Less toxic non-chemotype S strains of S. chartarum are morphologically indistinguishable from chemotype S strains, which results in uncertainties in hazard characterization of isolates. To selectively identify macrocyclic trichothecene producing S. chartarum isolates, a set of sat14 gene-specific primers was designed and applied in a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay using neutral red for visual signal detection. The assay was highly specific for S. chartarum strains of the macrocyclic trichothecene producing chemotype and showed no cross-reaction with non-macrocyclic trichothecene producing S. chartarum strains or 152 strains of 131 other fungal species. The assay’s detection limit was 0.635 pg/rxn (picogram per reaction) with a reaction time of 60 min. Its high specificity and sensitivity as well as the cost-saving properties make the new assay an interesting and powerful diagnostic tool for easy and rapid testing.


2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1287-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Zerilli ◽  
Cinzia Bonanno ◽  
Erlet Shehi ◽  
Giulia Amicarelli ◽  
Daniel Adlerstein ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Aberrant DNA methylation of gene promoters and the associated silencing of tumor suppressor genes are recognized as mechanisms contributing to tumor development. Therefore, detection of promoter hypermethylation is becoming important for diagnosis, prognosis, and aiding the design of cancer therapies. We describe a novel isothermal method for the detection of DNA hypermethylation. METHODS Methylation-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (MS-LAMP) is a novel adaptation of LAMP. MS-LAMP was used for the highly specific detection of hypermethylated CpGs in the promoters of the CDKN2A [cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (melanoma, p16, inhibits CDK4)], GATA5 (GATA binding protein 5), and DAPK1 (death-associated protein kinase 1) genes. The reactions occurred under isothermal conditions with 3 primer sets specific for methylated promoters. Both turbidimetry and fluorescence were used for detection. The MS-LAMP assay was validated with bisulfite-treated plasmid and genomic DNA controls of known methylation status and was applied to detect hypermethylation in 18 clinical tumor samples. A multiplex MS-LAMP for CDKN2A, GATA5, and DAPK1 was also validated with the aid of synthetic positive and negative controls. RESULTS The MS-LAMP assay showed high specificity with plasmid and genomic DNA targets in reactions carried out in <1 h. The assay had a detection limit of approximately 30 copies of methylated target sequence and a selectivity of 0.5% methylated DNA in a mixture with unmethylated DNA. Compared with methylation-specific PCR, the MS-LAMP assay detected lower rates of methylation in lung adenocarcinoma samples. Simultaneous multiplex detection of hypermethylation in the 3 targets (CDKN2A, GATA5, and DAPK1) was readily achieved with the MS-LAMP assay in both the turbidimetric and fluorescence detection formats. CONCLUSIONS MS-LAMP provides a highly specific isothermal method for methylation detection and is well suited for multiplex approaches.


Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Katoh ◽  
Shuichiro Yamazaki ◽  
Takashi Fukuda ◽  
Shoji Sonoda ◽  
Hisahi Nishigawa ◽  
...  

We developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for detecting Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae, the causal agent of wilt in strawberry plants. This assay was based on genomic regions between the portions of transposable elements Han and Skippy of the fungus. The LAMP assay allowed the efficient detection of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae DNA by visual inspection, without requiring gel electrophoresis. The detection limit was 100 pg of genomic DNA, which is comparable to that of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The LAMP primers successfully discriminated F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae strains from non-pathogenic F. oxysporum strains and other fungi. The LAMP assay at 63°C, which was found to be the optimal treatment temperature, for 1.5 h successfully detected F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae California strains GL1270 and GL1385. When the assay was performed using a GenelyzerTM FIII portable fluorometer, these California strains were successfully detected in 1 h. The assay facilitated the detection of conidia in soil samples after they were precultured on a selective medium for F. oxysporum (FoG2) as well as latent infection in strawberry plants after preculturing. The LAMP assay for visual inspection of DNA required only a heating block and an incubator, reducing the cost of this assay. Thus, it could be suitable for the detection of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae strains in centers that store pre-foundation and foundation stocks of strawberry, including plant nurseries.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Qin Xiong ◽  
Linlin Zhang ◽  
Xinyue Zheng ◽  
Yulin Qian ◽  
Yaxin Zhang ◽  
...  

Marssonina brunnea is the main pathogen that causes poplar black spot disease, which leads to the decrease of the photosynthetic efficiency and significantly affects the production and quality of timber. Currently, no in-field diagnostic exists for M. brunnea. Here, we described a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid and sensitive detection of M. brunnea. A set of six oligonucleotide primers was designed to recognize eight distinct sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of M. brunnea. The LAMP assay was optimized by the combination of high specificity, sensitivity, and rapidity for the detection of less than 10 pg/μL of target genomic DNA in 60 min per reaction at 65 °C, whereas with PCR, there was no amplification of DNA with concentration less than 1 ng/μL. Among the genomic DNA of 20 fungalisolates, only the samples containing the genomic DNA of M. brunnea changed from violet to sky blue (visible to the naked eye) by using hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) dye. No DNA was amplified from the eight other fungus species, including two other Marssonina pathogens, three other foliar fungi pathogens of poplar, and three common foliar fungal endophytes of poplar. Moreover, the detection rates of M. brunnea from artificially and naturally infected poplar leaves were 10/16 (62.5%) and 6/16 (37.5%) using PCR, respectively, while the positive-sample ratios were both 16/16 (100%) using the LAMP assay. Overall, the ITS LAMP assay established here can be a better alternative to PCR-based techniques for the specific and sensitive detection of M. brunnea in poplar endemic areas with resource-limited settings.


Plant Disease ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (9) ◽  
pp. 1741-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Yang ◽  
Mohamed N. Al-Attala ◽  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Ai-Fang Zhang ◽  
Hao-Yu Zang ◽  
...  

Ustilaginoidea virens is an important fungus that causes rice false smut disease. This disease significantly reduces both grain yield and quality. Various methods have been developed for the detection of U. virens but most of these methods need sophisticated equipment such as a thermal cycler. Here, we present a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the specific detection of U. virens. This assay used a specific region of the UvG-β1 gene (212-bp region) to design six LAMP primers. The LAMP assay was optimized by the combination of rapidity, simplicity, and high sensitivity for the detection of about 1 pg of target genomic DNA in the reaction whereas, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR), there was no amplification of DNA with concentrations less than 1 ng. Among the genomic DNA of 22 fungus species and two strains of U. virens, only the tube containing the DNA of U. virens changed to yellowish green with SYBR Green I. The color change was indicative of DNA amplification. No DNA was amplified from either the other 22 fungus species or the negative control. Moreover, 20 spikelets and 22 rice seed samples were used for the detection of rice false smut via LAMP. The results were comparable with conventional PCR. We conclude that gene UvG-β1 coupled with LAMP assay, can be used for the detection and identification of U. virens gene via LAMP.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanwen Yan ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Dongfang Ma ◽  
Junliang Yin

Loose smut of wheat caused by the basidiomycete fungus Ustilago tritici, a seed-borne disease, is difficult to control because of the expanse of wheat planting area and difficulty in pathogen detection. In this study, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays are used to rapidly amplify the DNA of U. tritici. Five pairs of primers for qPCR and two series primers for LAMP were designed. Primarily, the specificity of the primer was assessed by using genomic DNA of U. tritici, Fusarium graminearum, Blumeria graminis, Rhizoctonia cerealis, Puccinia striiformis, Bipolaris sorokiniana, and Alternaria solani as templates. Further, the amplification systems were optimized. Finally, the sensitivity of qPCR and LAMP assays were evaluated. The results showed that the primer Y-430 F/R, Y-307 F/R, Y-755 F/R, and Y-139 F/R for qPCR and primers L-139 and L-988 for LAMP could be used for U. tritici detection. In the sensitivity test, the detection limit of qPCR assay was identified as 10 pg μL−1 of genomic DNA, the detection limit for LAMP assay was 100 fg μL−1. We successfully performed qPCR and LAMP assays on wheat loose smut wheat samples. This paper establishes two methods for U. tritici detection, which can be used for diagnosis of wheat loose smut in the laboratory and in the field.


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