Rapid detection of tobacco viruses by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification

Tobacco viruses may cause a wide range of diseases that heavily reduce tobacco quality and yield worldwide. In order to detect viral diseases in tobacco fields, a one-step reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method was established. Nucleotide amplification could be observed clearly after adding SYBR Green I, within 60 min under isothermal conditions, at 63-65 °C with a set of primers targeting the viral coat protein (CP) genes of tobacco viruses including cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), potato virus Y (PVY), tobacco etch virus (TEV), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and tobacco vein banding mosaic virus (TVBMV). This method has high specificity and sensitivity. The sensitivity of the RT-LAMP was 10 to 100 times higher than that of the conventional RT-PCR method. The RT-LAMP assay was proven reliable for virus diagnosis of tobacco samples from the field.