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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2001, p. 5593-5600, Vol. 67, No. 12
Centre de Recherche STELA, Département de
Sciences des Aliments et de Nutrition,1
Département de Biochimie et
Microbiologie,3 Université Laval,
Québec G1K 7P4, and Canadian Food Inspection Agency,
Laboratory Services Division, Ottawa K1A 0C6,2
Canada
Received 18 May 2001/Accepted 26 September 2001
A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) technique for
the detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in foods was developed and
compared to the traditional reverse transcription (RT)-PCR technique.
Oligonucleotide primers targeting the VP1 and VP2 genes encoding the
major HAV capsid proteins were used for the amplification of viral RNA
in an isothermal process resulting in the accumulation of RNA
amplicons. Amplicons were detected by hybridization with a
digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probe in a dot blot assay format.
Using the NASBA, as little as 0.4 ng of target RNA/ml was detected per
comparison to 4 ng/ml for RT-PCR. When crude HAV viral lysate was used,
a detection limit of 2 PFU (4 × 102 PFU/ml) was
obtained with NASBA, compared to 50 PFU (1 × 104
PFU/ml) obtained with RT-PCR. No interference was encountered in the
amplification of HAV RNA in the presence of excess nontarget RNA or
DNA. The NASBA system successfully detected HAV recovered from
experimentally inoculated samples of waste water, lettuce, and
blueberries. Compared to RT-PCR and other amplification techniques, the
NASBA system offers several advantages in terms of sensitivity, rapidity, and simplicity. This technique should be readily adaptable for detection of other RNA viruses in both foods and clinical samples.
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.12.5593-5600.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Detection of Hepatitis A Virus by the Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based
Amplification Technique and Comparison with Reverse
Transcription-PCR
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre de
Recherche STELA, Département de Sciences des Aliments et de
Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec (QC) G1K 7P4, Canada.
Phone: 418-656-2131, ext. 6825. Fax: 418-656-3353. E-mail:
ismail.fliss{at}aln.ulaval.ca.
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