BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Veterinary and Zoonotic Infection
This article is part of the Research TopicUnveiling Host-Pathogen Interactions: Insights into Animal Cellular Immunity and Novel Diagnostics - Volume IIView all 23 articles
Development and Application of a qPCR Assay for Lawsonia intracellularis in Tibetan Pigs
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xiangcheng center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Sichuan, China
- 2Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Harbin Veterinary Research Institute State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin, China
- 3Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Rural and Science and Technology Bureau of Xiangcheng, Sichuan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study developed a rapid, sensitive, and specific TaqMan MGB based qPCR assay for detecting Lawsonia intracellularis in Tibetan pigs by targeting the aspA gene. The method showed no cross-reactivity with other common porcine enteric pathogens, and exhibited high sensitivity (detection limit: 7.056 copies/μL) and excellent repeatability (CV < 2%). A standard curve with good linearity (R² = 0.998) and 110.95% amplification efficiency was established. The assay was applied to 237 fecal samples collected from Tibetan pigs across eight townships in Xiangcheng County, Sichuan Province, in parallel with a national standard method. Results indicated a 19% overall positivity rate (45/237), with regional rates ranging from 11.11% to 26.67%. The established qPCR provides a reliable tool for field surveillance, and findings underscore the need to integrate L. intracellularis monitoring into local prevention systems to support healthy Tibetan pig production.
Keywords: Tibetan pig, lawsonia intracellularis, aspA, quantitative PCR, Epidemiology
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiao, Wang, Chen, Xue, Zhao, Xia and Zhao. 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: Changyou Xia, xiachangyou@caas.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.