ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Parasite and Host
Rapid and visual detection of Tacheng tick virus 1 using loop-mediated isothermal amplification technique
Provisionally accepted
- 1Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
- 2The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
- 3Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Changchun, China
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Tacheng tick virus 1 (TcTV-1) is an emerging tick-borne nairovirus associated with human febrile illness. To date, no reliable detection method for TcTV-1 has been established. In this study, we developed and evaluated a rapid loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of TcTV-1. The primers were designed based on the nucleocapsid protein (NP) gene of TcTV-1. Sensitivity was assessed using ten-fold serial dilutions of recombinant plasmids containing the target sequence. Specificity was evaluated using cDNA from Songling virus (SGLV), Yezo virus (YEZV), Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), and Beiji nairovirus (BJNV). The assay was validated using field-collected tick samples. The TcTV-1-specific LAMP assay detected as few as 1×10⁻¹ copies/μL within 60 minutes at 65 °C and specifically amplified TcTV-1, with no cross-reactivity to SGLV, YEZV, TBEV, SFTSV, or BJNV. Positive reactions exhibited a clear color change from purple to blue, indicating a robust colorimetric response. A total of eight tick specimens (16.0%; 95% CI: 7.2–29.1) tested positive for TcTV-1 using both the established LAMP assay and SYBR Green real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), demonstrating 100% sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy for the LAMP assay. In summary, we report a TcTV-1-specific LAMP assay with high sensitivity, specificity, and cost-effectiveness, making it a practical tool for use in field-based or resource-limited settings.
Keywords: Tacheng tick virus 1 (TcTV-1), Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), Ticks, tick-borne virus, China
Received: 05 Jul 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Gui, Ren, Liu, Liu, Li, Wang and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing-feng Yu
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