title: Rapid and sensitive detection of heat-labile I and heat-stable I enterotoxin genes of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification.
abstract: We developed a technique for detecting the heat-labile I (LTI) and heat-stable I (STI) genes of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) using a novel DNA amplification procedure designated Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP). The detection limit of accelerated LAMP utilizing loop primers was 4 CFU/test for LTI and was 40 CFU/test for STI, which are 10-fold higher than those of conventional PCR assay (detection limit, 40 CFU/test and 400 CFU/test, respectively). No DNA amplification was observed in LT and ST non-producing E. coli or other bacterial strains; thus, high specificity was verified. The specificity of LAMP assay was also confirmed by digestion of LAMP products using restriction enzymes and DNA sequence analysis. In the accelerated LAMP assay, DNA amplification was detected within 35 min, and thus LAMP is superior to conventional PCR in terms of rapidity. It was confirmed that increased concentrations of primers and Bst DNA polymerase could further facilitate the reaction. Furthermore, with the high amplification efficiency of the LAMP assay, amplification can be visually observed by the turbidity caused by magnesium pyrophosphate, a byproduct of the reaction. Detection of LTI and STI in ETEC by LAMP is thus an extremely rapid procedure with high sensitivity and specificity that requires no specialized equipment. This assay is expected to become a valuable tool for rapid diagnosis in ETEC infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Technology, Ehime Prefectural University of Health Sciences, 543 Takooda, Tobe-cho, Iyo-gun, Ehime Prefecture 791-2101, Japan. akemi901@epu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Rika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ishimaru
authors.forename: Rie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hujikata
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C034151:heat stable toxin (E coli); C027538:heat-labile enterotoxin, E coli