Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay for Rapid Detection of viable but non-culturable Vibrio cholerae O1
<i>Vibrio cholerae</i>, an important waterborne pathogen, is a rod-shaped bacterium that naturally exists in aquatic environments. When conditions are unfavorable for growth, the bacterium can undergo morphological and physiological changes to assume a coccoid morphology. This stage in its life cycle is referred to as viable but non-culturable (VBNC) since VBNC cells do not grow on conventional bacteriological culture media. The current study compared polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to detect and identify VBNC <i>V. cholerae</i>. Because it is difficult to detect and identify VBNC <i>V. cholerae</i>, the results of the current study are useful in showing LAMP to be more sensitive and rapid than PCR in detecting and identifying non-culturable, coccoid forms of <i>V. cholerae</i>. Furthermore, the LAMP method is effective in detecting and identifying very low numbers of coccoid VBNC <i>V. cholerae</i> in environmental water samples, with the added benefit of being inexpensive to perform.