scholarly journals Digital PCR as an Emerging Tool for Monitoring of Microbial Biodegradation

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiqi Cao ◽  
Miao Yu ◽  
Guihua Dong ◽  
Bing Chen ◽  
Baiyu Zhang

Biodegradation of contaminants is extremely complicated due to unpredictable microbial behaviors. Monitoring of microbial biodegradation drives us to determine (1) the amounts of specific degrading microbes, (2) the abundance, and (3) expression level of relevant functional genes. To this endeavor, the cultivation independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based monitoring technique develops from endpoint PCR, real-time quantitative PCR, and then into novel digital PCR. In this review, we introduce these three categories of PCR techniques and summarize the timely applications of digital PCR and its superiorities than qPCR for biodegradation monitoring. Digital PCR technique, emerging as the most accurately absolute quantification method, can serve as the most promising and robust tool for monitoring of microbial biodegradation.

Author(s):  
Tigst Demeke ◽  
Monika Eng ◽  
Michelle Holigroski ◽  
Sung-Jong Lee

Abstract Low-level detection and quantification of genetically engineered (GE) traits with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is challenging. For unapproved GE events, any level of detection is not acceptable in some countries because of zero tolerance. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has been successfully used for absolute quantification of GE events. In this study, reliability of low level quantification of GE events with ddPCR was assessed using a total of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 ng DNA spiked at 0.01% and 0.1% concentration levels. Genetically engineered canola (GT73 and MON88302 events) and soybean (A2704-12 and DP305423 events) events were used for the study. For samples spiked at 0.1% level, reliable quantification was achieved for the four GE events using 50 or 100 ng DNA. Few target droplets were generated for 0.01% spiked GE samples using 50 and 100 ng DNA. Increasing the amount of DNA for ddPCR generated more number of target droplets. For GE canola events, the use of 400 and 600 ng DNA for ddPCR resulted in saturation. The use of multiple wells of 200 ng DNA (instead of 400 and 600 ng per well) helped to overcome the saturation problem. Overall, the use of high amount of DNA for ddPCR was helpful for the detection and quantification of 0.01% GE samples.


Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinrong Shen ◽  
Jihong Zheng ◽  
Zhenqing Li ◽  
Yourong Liu ◽  
Fengxiang Jing ◽  
...  

Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction(ddPCR) is an effective technique for the absolute quantification of target mucleic acid unparalleled sensitivity. However, current commerical ddPCR device for the detection of the gene...


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1270
Author(s):  
Anna Cutarelli ◽  
Andrea Fulgione ◽  
Pasquale Fraulo ◽  
Francesco Paolo Serpe ◽  
Pasquale Gallo ◽  
...  

Buffalo mozzarella cheese is one of the most appreciated traditional Italian products and it is certified as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product under the European Commission Regulation No. 1151/2012. It is obtained exclusively from buffalo milk. If made from cow milk, or a mixture of buffalo and cow milk, buffalo mozzarella cheese does not qualify as a PDO product. In order to maximize their profits, some producers market buffalo mozzarella that also contains cow milk as a PDO product, thus defrauding consumers. New methods for revealing this fraud are therefore needed. One such method is the droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR). Thanks to its high precision and sensitivity, the ddPCR could prove an efficacious means for detecting the presence of cow milk in buffalo mozzarella cheese that is marketed as a PDO product. ddPCR has proved able to detect the DNA of cow and/or buffalo milk in 33 buffalo mozzarella cheeses labelled as PDO products, and experimental evidence could support its application in routine analyses.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Aline T.A. Chagas ◽  
Michelle D. Oliveira ◽  
Jose M.S. Mezencio ◽  
Eduardo A.M. Silva ◽  
Leandro L. Oliveira ◽  
...  

The <em>Dengue virus</em> is the main arbovirus that affects man in terms of morbidity and mortality. The detection of the virus is very important for epidemiological surveillance, so here we propose to standardize and compare the immunodot blot (IDB) and multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (M-RT-PCR) techniques to detect and characterize the dengue virus (DENV) serotypes in samples of <em>Aedes aegypti</em> larvae. Thus, the IDB and M-RT-PCR techniques were standardized using macerated samples of larvae collected in nature. The use of monoclonal antibodies in IDB has not shown great results, but DENV detection through this method was possible using polyclonal antibodies. The distinction of serotypes 1, 2 and 3 was carried out by M-RT-PCR.


2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Kiyoshi Massunari ◽  
Evandra Maria Voltarelli ◽  
Demilson Rodrigues dos Santos ◽  
Ademar Rodrigues dos Santos ◽  
Luiz Paschoal Poiani ◽  
...  

Classic and molecular (polymerase chain reaction - PCR) techniques were used to diagnose American cutaneous leishmaniasis in 149 dogs from an area in the northwest of Paraná State, Brazil, where an American cutaneous leishmaniasis outbreak occurred in 2002. The results were compared to a set of previously obtained results. Twenty-five dogs had positive indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) (titers > 40), including two animals with suggestive lesions. The percentage of dogs with positive IIF was similar to that found in a previous study. The cultures of the lesion, blood and bone marrow were negative for Leishmania. A direct search for the parasite in the lesions proved negative, although PCR tests were positive. The PCR did not detect the DNA of Leishmania (Viannia) in the blood, even for those that had positive PCR in a previous study. The follow up of the 27 dogs showed that the majority of them had maintained the same levels of antibodies that had been detected previously. There was a reduction in the number of dogs with lesions, probably due to the transmission control measures that were adopted after the outbreak.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flaviane Granero Maltempe ◽  
Vanessa Pietrowski Baldin ◽  
Mariana Aparecida Lopes ◽  
Vera Lúcia Dias Siqueira ◽  
Regiane Bertin de Lima Scodro ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease and an important public health problem, especially in developing countries. It is a chronic infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which has a predilection for the skin and peripheral nerves. Although it has low sensitivity, slit-skin smear (SSS) remains the conventional auxiliary laboratory technique for the clinical diagnosis of leprosy. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique that holds promise as a simple and sensitive diagnostic tool. In the present study, the performance of two PCR methods, using different targets, PCR-LP and PCR-P, were compared with SSS with regard to leprosy diagnosis in a reference laboratory. M. leprae DNA was extracted from 106 lymph samples of 40 patients who had clinical suspicion of leprosy. The samples were subjected to both PCR techniques and SSS. Amplification of the human b-globin gene was used as PCR inhibitor control. The specificity of both PCR techniques was 100%, and sensitivity was 0.007 and 0.015 µg/ml for PCR-LP and PCR-P, respectively. No significant difference was found between either the PCR-LP or PCR-P results and SSS results (p > 0.05). Although PCR is not yet a replacement for SSS in the diagnosis of leprosy, this technique may be used as an efficient auxiliary tool for early detection of the disease, especially in endemic regions. This strategy may also be useful in cases in which SSS results are negative (e.g., in paucibacillary patients) and cases in which skin biopsy cannot be performed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 1081-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Carla Liberto ◽  
Giovanni Matera ◽  
Angelo G. Lamberti ◽  
Angela Quirino ◽  
Giorgio S. Barreca ◽  
...  

Systemic Bartonella henselae infections are unusual in immunocompetent adults. However, here we report one such case of bartonellosis in a 34-year-old patient, who presented with fever and multinodular splenomegaly. We also describe a novel method of identifying Bartonella henselae by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of amplified products. This could prevent splenic bartonellosis being mistaken for lymphoma and thereby avert unnecessary splenectomy.


Acta Tropica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 105175
Author(s):  
Justine Daudi Maganira ◽  
Beda John Mwang'onde ◽  
Winifrida Kidima ◽  
Chacha John Mwita ◽  
Gamba Nkwengulila ◽  
...  

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