Comparison of reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for grass carp reovirus

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) has been assigned to a newly established Aquareovirus genus in the family of Reoviridae which leads to haemorrhagic disease and extremely high mortality rate in grass carp. In this study, comparison was made between the novel one-step reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) and the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of grass carp reovirus. The result indicated that RT-LAMP had x 10 higher sensitivity comparable to RT-PCR. The specificity of the two methods for GCRV detection were both developed successfully by other three aquatic viruses. In the field trial, both RT-PCR and RT-LAMP methods were applied to detect the samples from different infected organs and tissues. The result demonstrated that RT-LAMP had a high accuracy to confirm the diagnosis as well as the RT-PCR. This study showed that the RT-LAMP, compared to the RT-PCR, was simple, time-saving, convenient, but required specificity primers and possibly generated false positive product. Its products, unlike RT-PCR, could not be direcly used in further molecular research after purification. Thus RT-LAMP might be an optimal diagnostic method for rapid and preliminary diagnosis of GCRV infection in resource-limited setting situation.