Development of a Quantitative Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay with an Internal Positive Control

Summary

Provided is a protocol for developing a real-time recombinase polymerase amplification assay to quantify initial concentration of DNA samples using either a thermal cycler or a microscope and stage heater. Also described is the development of an internal positive control. Scripts are provided for processing raw real-time fluorescence data.

Abstract

It was recently demonstrated that recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), an isothermal amplification platform for pathogen detection, may be used to quantify DNA sample concentration using a standard curve. In this manuscript, a detailed protocol for developing and implementing a real-time quantitative recombinase polymerase amplification assay (qRPA assay) is provided. Using HIV-1 DNA quantification as an example, the assembly of real-time RPA reactions, the design of an internal positive control (IPC) sequence, and co-amplification of the IPC and target of interest are all described. Instructions and data processing scripts for the construction of a standard curve using data from multiple experiments are provided, which may be used to predict the concentration of unknown samples or assess the performance of the assay. Finally, an alternative method for collecting real-time fluorescence data with a microscope and a stage heater as a step towards developing a point-of-care qRPA assay is described. The protocol and scripts provided may be used for the development of a qRPA assay for any DNA target of interest.

Introduction

Quantitative nucleic acid amplification is an important technique for detection of environmental, foodborne, and water-borne pathogens as well as for clinical diagnostics. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is the gold standard method for sensitive, specific, and quantitative detection of nucleic acids, e.g., for HIV-1 viral load testing, detection of bacterial pathogens, and screening for many other organisms^1–3. During real-time qPCR, primers amplify pathogen DNA in cycles, and a fluorescent signal is generated that is proportional to the amount of amplified DNA in the sample at each cycle. A sampl....

Protocol

1. Program the Thermal Cycler for Real-time qRPA Reactions

1. Create a new protocol in the thermal cycler software.
   1. Insert a pre-incubation step: 39 °C for 1 min.
   2. Add a second step: 39 °C for 20 sec followed by a plate read.
   3. Finally, insert a “GO TO” that repeats the second step 59 more times.
   4. Save the protocol.
2. Create a new plate in the “plate editor” tab of the software. Select wells on the plate corresponding to the locations of the RPA reactions (here, use wells A1, A4-A8, B1, and B4-B8).
   NOTE: It is not important whether the sample type of the we....

Results

Before selecting a sequence to serve as the IPC in qRPA experiments with target (HIV-1) DNA, internal positive control (IPC) candidates are generated and screened for their ability to amplify in qRPA reactions without HIV-1 DNA present. IPC candidates are longer than the target (HIV-1) DNA to prevent IPC formation from out-competing HIV-1 amplicon formation. As shown in Figure 2A, the generation of two C. parvum IPC candidates was verified by the presence of 415 and 435 bp bands using gel electr.......

Discussion

In order to obtain meaningful quantification data using the MATLAB algorithm, the user must select appropriate input values when prompted. After initiating each script in Sections 5 and 6, all input variables are automatically solicited in the command window and outputs are automatically generated. In Section 5.7 the user is prompted to select a slope threshold. The value of the slope threshold affects the square of the correlation coefficient (r²) of the fit. When using raw fluorescence data exported from a t.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
qRPA Assay
HIV-1 forward primer	Integrated DNA Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’-TGG CAG TAT TCA TTC ACA ATT TTA AAA GAA AAG G-3’
HIV-1 reverse primer	Integrated DNA Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’-CCC GAA AAT TTT GAA TTT TTG TAA TTT GTT TTT G-3’
HIV-1 probe	BioSearch Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’- TGC TAT TAT GTC TAC TAT TCT TTC CCC [SIMA/HEX] GC [THF] C [dT-BHQ1] GTA CCC CCC AAT CCC C -3’
IPC probe	BioSearch Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’-AGG TAG TGA CAA GAA ATA ACA ATA CAG GAC [FAM] T [THF] T [dT-BHQ1] GGT TTT GTA ATT GGA A -3’
RPA exo reagents (pellets, rehydration buffer, magnesium acetate	TwistDx	TwistAmp exo
PCR tube strips	BioRad	TLS0801
PCR flat cap tube strips	BioRad	TCS0803
Micro-seal adhesive	BioRad	558/MJ
HIV-1 target (pHIV-IRES- eYFPΔEnvΔVifΔVpr)			custom plasmid, see: Segall, H. I., Yoo, E. & Sutton, R. E. Characterization and detection of artificial replication-competent lentivirus of altered host range. Molecular Therapy 8, 118–129, doi:10.1016/S1525-0016(03)00134-5 (2003).
Human male genomic DNA	Applied Biosystems	360486
96 well cold-block	Cole Parmer	EW-36700-48
Thermal cycler	BioRad	CFX96
MiniFuge	VWR	93000-196
Vortex	VWR	58816-121
Tris buffer 1.0 M, pH 8.0	EMD Millipore	648314
EDTA 0.5 M, pH 8.0	Promega	V4321
Nuclease free water	Ambion	AM9937
IPC Development
Cryptosporidium parvum IPC template	Waterborne Inc	P102C	It is also possible to order a double stranded synthetic target from IDT if the user is unequipped to work with C. parvum (a BSL-2 infectious agent). PCR and RPA primers for C. parvum were designed using GenBank accession number AF115377.1
PCR long forward primer	Integrated DNA Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’-TGG CAG TAT TCA TTC ACA ATT TTA AAA GAA AAG G/ ATC TAA GGA AGG CAG CAG GC-3’
PCR long reverse primer	Integrated DNA Technologies	custom DNA oligos	5’- CCC GAA AAT TTT GAA TTT TTG TAA TTT GTT TTT G/ TGC TGG AGT ATT CAA GGC ATA -3’
Phusion High-Fidelty DNA Polymerase	New England Biolabs	M0530S
Qiaquick Gel Extraction Kit	Qiagen	28704
TAE 10X buffer	EMD Millipore	574797
Agarose	Sigma Aldrich	A9539
Microscope Experiments
Upright fluorescence microscope	Zeiss	Zeiss Imager.J1
Stage heater	Bioscience Tools	TC-GSH
1-Channel Precision High Stability Temperature Controller	Bioscience Tools	TC-1100S
FAM/GFP filter cube	Zeiss	filter set 38 (000000-1031-346)	excitation BP 470/40 nm, emission BP 520/50 nm
HEX filter cube	Chroma	49014	excitation BP 530/30 nm, emission BP 575/40 nm
Laser cutter	Engraver's Network	VLS3.60
1/8" black acrylic	McMaster Carr	8505K113
1.5 mm clear acrylic	McMaster Carr	PD-72268940
Super glue	Office Depot	Duro super glue
PCR grade mineral oil	Sigma Aldrich	M8662-5VL
Data Analysis
Microsoft Excel	Microsoft
MATLAB	MATLAB
MATLAB script: "JoVE_qRPA_standard_curve.m”	Included in SI
MATLAB script: "JoVE_qRPA_validation_and_quantification.m”	Included in SI
MATLAB script: "JoVE_real_time_intensity_to_excel.m”	Included in SI
Adobe Illustrator	Adobe
JoVE_qRPA_well.ai	Included in SI
JoVE_qRPA_base.ai	Included in SI
AxioVision software	Zeiss
JoVE_AxioVision_Script.ziscript	Included in SI