Duplex On-Site Detection of <i>Vibrio cholerae</i> and <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> by Recombinase Polymerase Amplification and Three-Segment Lateral Flow Strips

oleh: Pei Wang, Lei Liao, Chao Ma, Xue Zhang, Junwei Yu, Longyu Yi, Xin Liu, Hui Shen, Song Gao, Qunwei Lu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-05-01

Deskripsi

<i>Vibrio cholerae</i> and <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> are two most reported foodborne <i>Vibrio</i> pathogens related to seafood. Due to global ocean warming and an increase in seafood consumption worldwide, foodborne illnesses related to infection of these two bacteria are growing, leading to food safety issues and economic consequences. Molecular detection methods targeting species-specific genes are effective tools in the fight against bacterial infections for food safety. In this study, a duplex detection biosensor based on isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and a three-segment lateral flow strip (LFS) has been established. The biosensor used <i>lolB</i> gene of <i>Vibrio cholerae</i> and <i>empV</i> gene of <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> as the detection markers based on previous reports. A duplex RPA reaction for both targets were constructed, and two chemical labels, FITC and DIG, of the amplification products were carefully tested for effective and accurate visualization on the strip. The biosensor demonstrated good specificity and achieved a sensitivity of 10<sup>1</sup> copies per reaction or one colony forming unit (CFU)/10 g of spiked food for both bacteria. Validation with clinical samples showed results consistent with that of real-time polymerase chain reaction. The detection process was simple and fast with a 30-min reaction at 37 °C and visualization on the strip within 5 min. With little dependence on laboratory settings, this biosensor was suitable for on-site detection, and the duplex system enabled simultaneous detection of the two important foodborne bacteria. Moreover, the principle can be extended to healthcare and food safety applications for other pathogens.