Rapid detection of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) by loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay combined with a lateral flow dipstick method

The Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is a principal pathogen of the domestic silkworm. The disease often breaks out in sericultural countries and due to its high infectivity; it is difficult to control, resulting in heavy economic loss. In order to develop a rapid, sensitive visual detection and simple-to-use novel technology for detection of BmNPV, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay combined with a lateral flow dipstick (LFD) method was described. In this study, a set of four primers and a labeled probe were designed specifically to recognize six distinct regions of the BmNPV gp41 gene, and the LAMP for the detection of BmNPV was developed by isothermal amplification at 61 °C for 45 min, followed by hybridization with an FITC-labeled DNA probe for 5 min and detected by LFD within 5 min. The detection limit of LAMP-LFD was 0.2 pg DNA extracted from silkworm infected with BmNPV and was 100 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. No product was generated from silkworm infected with other viruses. Furthermore, we applied the technique to detect BmNPV in the hemolymph and feces at different intervals post infection (pi). In conclusion, the novel LAMP-LFD setup presented here is simple, rapid, reliable, and has the potential for future use in the detection of BmNPV.