AUTHOR=Qu Yao , Liu Mengda , Sun Xiangxiang , Liu Yongxia , Liu Jianzhu , Hu Liping , Jiang Zhiqiang , Qi Fei , Nan Wenlong , Yan Xin , Sun Mingjun , Shao Weixing , Li Jiaqi , Sun Shufang , Zhang Haobo , Fan Xiaoxu 

TITLE=Development and evaluation of a triplex droplet digital PCR method for differentiation of M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and BCG

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1397792

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1397792

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Tuberculosis, caused by <italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</italic> complex (MTBC), remains a global health concern in both human and animals. However, the absence of rapid, accurate, and highly sensitive detection methods to differentiate the major pathogens of MTBC, including <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic>, <italic>M. bovis</italic>, and BCG, poses a potential challenge.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In this study, we have established a triplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) method employing three types of probe fluorophores, with targets <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic> (targeting CFP-10-ESAT-6 gene of RD1 and Rv0222 genes of RD4), <italic>M. bovis</italic> (targeting CFP-10-ESATs-6 gene of RD1), and BCG (targeting Rv3871 and Rv3879c genes of ΔRD1), respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Based on optimization of annealing temperature, sensitivity and repeatability, this method demonstrates a lower limit of detection (LOD) as 3.08 copies/reaction for <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic>, 4.47 copies/reaction for <italic>M. bovis</italic> and 3.59 copies/reaction for BCG, without cross-reaction to <italic>Mannheimia haemolytica</italic>, <italic>Mycoplasma bovis</italic>, <italic>Haemophilus parasuis</italic>, <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>, <italic>Pasteurella multocida</italic>, <italic>Ochrobactrum anthropi</italic>, <italic>Salmonella choleraesuis</italic>, <italic>Brucella melitensis</italic>, and <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>, and showed repeatability with coefficients of variation (CV) lower than 10%. The method exhibits strong milk sample tolerance, the LOD of detecting in spike milk was 5 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/mL, which sensitivity is ten times higher than the triplex qPCR. 60 clinical DNA samples, including 20 milk, 20 tissue and 20 swab samples, were kept in China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center were tested by the triplex ddPCR and triplex qPCR. The triplex ddPCR presented a higher sensitivity (11.67%, 7/60) than that of the triplex qPCR method (8.33%, 5/60). The positive rates of <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic>, <italic>M. bovis</italic>, and BCG were 1.67, 10, and 0% by triplex ddPCR, and 1.67, 6.67, and 0% by triplex qPCR, with coincidence rates of 100, 96.7, and 100%, respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Our data demonstrate that the established triplex ddPCR method is a sensitive, specific and rapid method for differentiation and identification of <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic>, <italic>M. bovis</italic>, and BCG.</p></sec>