Development of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for detection of Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs

Diagnosis of canine babesiosis, caused by Babesia gibsoni is difficult, especially in chronically infected dogs. A loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed and standardized by using four oligonucleotide primers targeting the hypervariable region of 18S rRNA gene (GenBank Acc. no. KC461261). The primers specifically amplified B. gibsoni DNA, while no amplification was detected with DNA from non-infected dogs as well as from dogs infected with Babesia canis vogeli, Hepatozoon canis, Ehrlichia canis and Trypanosoma evansi. The assay could detect 1.35 × 10(-7) parasitaemia and 10(-4) dilution of recombinant plasmid, equivalent to 12 pg of target DNA. All the samples were tested by nested PCR as well as LAMP assay. LAMP was found to be 10 times more sensitive than nested PCR targeting the same gene. Out of 75 suspected field samples, collected from different parts of the country, LAMP could detect B. gibsoni in 43 samples, while nested PCR and microscopy could detect 37 and 23 samples, respectively. High sensitivity, specificity and rapidity of LAMP assay may be exploited for screening large number of samples in a field setting.