Development of a closed-tube, calcein-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay to detect Salmonella spp. in raw meat samples.

Foodborne pathogens compromise food safety and public health, and Salmonella spp. are among the major pathogenic bacteria that cause outbreaks worldwide. Proper surveillance through timely and cost-effective detection methods across the food animal production chain is crucial to prevent Salmonella outbreaks and agricultural losses. Traditional culture methods are labor- and resource-intensive, with lengthy turnaround times. Meanwhile, conventional molecular tools, such as PCR and qPCR, are expensive and require technical skills and equipment. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a simple, rapid, inexpensive, highly sensitive, and specific molecular assay that does not require expensive equipment. Hence, this study developed and optimized a closed-tube, calcein-based LAMP assay to detect Salmonella using the invA gene and performed evaluation and validation against conventional PCR. The LAMP assay showed high specificity and sensitivity. It showed 10-fold higher sensitivity than conventional PCR, at <1 ng/µL DNA concentrations. Meanwhile, for CFU/mL, LAMP assay showed 1000-fold higher sensitivity than conventional PCR at 4.8 × 103 cells/mL than 4.8 × 107 cells/mL, respectively. For parallel testing of 341 raw meat samples, after conventional culture enrichment (until Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth), the optimized LAMP assay showed 100% detection on all samples while conventional PCR showed 100%, 99.04%, and 96.64% for raw chicken, beef, and pork samples, respectively. Meanwhile, a shortened enrichment protocol involving 3-h incubation in buffered peptone water only, showed lower accuracy in tandem with the optimized LAMP assay ranging from 55 to 75% positivity rates among samples. These suggest that the optimized LAMP assay possesses higher sensitivity over conventional PCR for invA gene detection when coupled with conventional enrichment culture methods. Hence, this assay has potential as a powerful complementary or alternative Salmonella detection method to increase surveillance capacity and protect consumer food safety and public health worldwide.

Aptamer Selection against a Trichomonas vaginalis Adhesion Protein for Diagnostic Applications.

Trichomoniasis, caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, is the leading nonviral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. We report the selection of a DNA aptamer against a T. vaginalis adhesion protein, AP65, using a microtiter plate-based in vitro combinatorial chemistry process termed systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment. The enriched library pool was sequenced by next-generation sequencing, and several aptamer candidates with high affinity and specificity were identified. The aptamer with the highest affinity and specificity had a KD in the low nanomolar range, as confirmed by three different techniques: surface plasmon resonance, enzyme-linked aptamer assay, and biolayer interferometry. The selected aptamer was demonstrated to have a high specificity to the AP65 protein and to T. vaginalis cells with no cross-reactivity to other enteric and urogenital microorganisms. Current work is focused on the development of inexpensive and easy-to-use aptamer-based diagnostic assays for the reliable and rapid detection of T. vaginalis in vaginal swabs.

Detection and molecular characterization of double-stranded RNA viruses in Philippine Trichomonas vaginalis isolates.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The flagellated protozoon Trichomonas vaginalis that parasitizes the urogenital tract of humans was reported to harbor double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses. These viruses, identified as Trichomonas vaginalis virus (TVV), belong to the genus Trichomonasvirus of the family Totiviridae. Four species, formally recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), have been reported and distinguished by pairwise comparisons of the sequences of genes coding for major capsid protein (CP) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). METHODS: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify the complimentary DNA of target virus genes coding for CP and RdRp. Sequence analyses confirmed the identity of the TVV isolates from T. vaginalis cultures. RESULTS: A total of 35 dsRNA viruses were identified from 18 (19%) T. vaginalis isolates. Multiple TVV species were observed in six of the 18 T. vaginalis cultures. Phylogenetic analyses show monophyly in TVV1 and TVV2 whereas TVV3 and TVV4 appear paraphyletic. The phylogeny of Philippine Trichomonasvirus reflects the global distribution of its host. CONCLUSION: This is the first study in the Philippines and one of the two reports worldwide to detect the four TVVs and their concurrent infection in a single T. vaginalis isolate.