Molecular technologies for detection and typing of bluetongue virus

Abstract

Rapid and accurate diagnosis plays an important role in the implementation of effective measures to control the spread of disease. Historically, the laboratory diagnosis and typing of BTV were carried out by various serological and virological methods, including virus neutralization (VN) assay, ELISA, as well as virus isolation (VI) in cell cultures or in embryonated chicken eggs. At present, various molecular techniques to detect BTV genome are increasingly used as primary diagnostic tools for the serotyping and epidemiological investigations of BTV. Initially, the viral RNA was detected by simple nucleic acid hybridization technologies. Then, conventional RT-PCR assays were developed and evaluated for the detection of BTV serotypes based on nucleotide sequences of different genome segments. Although RT-PCR, with its increased sensitivity, has advantages over hybridization, it is almost impossible to quantify accurately by regular and multiplex PCR procedures, and regular PCR may produce false positive results. Over the recent years, a number of real-Time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) methods have been described. The rRT-PCR offers certain advantages over conventional RT-PCR assay, as it is more rapid, sensitive, and can provide quantitative as well as qualitative genetic information. It does not use agarose gel electrophoresis, decreases the risk of contamination because it is run within an enclosed tube, and is suitable for large-scale testing and automation. The target amplicon is usually smaller, reducing the potential for problems caused by target degradation. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), a novel rapid, accurate and cost effective gene amplification method, is an autocycling and strand displacement DNA synthesis method. LAMP assays have been applied as a method of detecting a variety of animal pathogens, including BTV. RT-LAMP assay can be a valuable tool complementing the routine laboratory diagnosis of BTV.