Richismita Hazra, Amity University Kolkata
Brucella is small, Gram-negative, non-motile, unencapsulated coccobacilli. Among six different species with varying biotypes, four cause human diseases: Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, B. suis and B. canis generally causes human infection. Approximately half a million cases of human brucellosis are reported each year which is estimated to be 10-25% less than the real number according to the 1997 world health organization (WHO) report. Although there are three major methods for the identification of brucellosis, isolation of the bacterium by blood culture represents the gold standard for laboratory diagnosis. But it suffers certain drawbacks: it is time-consuming, has low sensitivity, belongs to class III biosafety of Brucella, and is hence dangerous.
Consequently, reliable and affordable detection of Brucella species by molecular methods that would be rapid too remained a challenge. Recently, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), a functional nucleic acid amplification technique has offered a substitute to the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The current study, sheds light on the deployment of LAMP for the identification of common species of Brucella based on the bcsp31 gene has been discussed. The major objective of this work was to assess and compare the diagnostic potencies of LAMP and PCR.
The results were in favour of LAMP. The feasibility, easy construction, quick answers, and visual recognition gave the LAMP assay advantage over the conventional PCR method. Unlike other molecular techniques, this method does not demand special devices that are the most expensive. This assay can be performed in low-budget laboratories or in areas where an outbreak is probable. So, the LAMP technique can be an efficient and reliable substitute for PCR for the identification of strains of Brucella especially those that are native to Iran.
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Source: Moeini-Zanjani, A., Pournajaf, A., Ferdosi-Shahandashti, E. et al. Comparison of loop-mediated isothermal amplification and conventional PCR tests for diagnosis of common Brucella species. BMC Res Notes13, 533 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05377-8
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