Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38701065›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2024

Development and evaluation of a multi-target droplet digital PCR assay for highly sensitive and specific detection of Yersinia pestis.

Yanting Zhao, Ziheng Yan, Kai Song, Yanbing Li, Leiming Shen, Yiming Cui, Zongmin Du, Ruifu Yang, Yajun Song, Lan Jing and 1 more

Abstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Abundance ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yanting ZhaoCollege of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
Ziheng YanState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Kai SongState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Yanbing LiState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Leiming ShenState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Yiming CuiState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Zongmin DuState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Ruifu YangState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Yajun SongState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
Lan JingCollege of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
Yong ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0003-1648-4823

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program (CN)State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity (CN)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease that poses considerable threats to human health. Nucleic acid tests are crucial for plague surveillance and the rapid detection of Y. pestis. However, inhibitors in complex samples such as soil and animal tissues often hamper nucleic acid detection, leading to a reduced rate of identifying low concentrations of Y. pestis. To address this challenge, we developed a sensitive and specific droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and animal tissue samples.

methodsThree genes (ypo2088, caf1, and pla) from Y. pestis were used to develop a multi-target ddPCR assay. The limits of detection (LoD), reproducibility, and specificity were assessed for bacterial genomic DNA samples. The ability of the assay to detect low concentrations of Y. pestis DNA from simulated soil and mouse liver tissue samples was respectively evaluated and compared with that of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR).

resultsThe results showed that the ddPCR LoDs ranged from 6.2 to 15.4 copies/reaction for the target genes, with good reproducibility and high specificity for Y. pestis. By testing 130 soil and mouse liver tissue samples spiked with Y. pestis, the ddPCR assay exhibited a better sensitivity than that of the qPCR assay used in the study, with LoDs of 102 colony forming units (CFU)/100 mg soil and 103 CFU/20 mg liver. Moreover, the assay presented good quantitative linearity (R2 = 0.99) for Y. pestis at 103-106 CFU/sample for soil and liver samples.

conclusionThe ddPCR assay presented good performance for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and mouse tissue samples, showing great potential for improving the detection rate of low concentrations of Y. pestis in plague surveillance and facilitating the early diagnosis of plague cases.

Indexed as

PlagueSensitivity and SpecificitySoil MicrobiologyYersinia pestisAnimalsBacterial ProteinsDNA, BacterialHumansLimit of DetectionLiverMicePolymerase Chain ReactionReproducibility of ResultsBacterial ProteinsDNA, Bacterial

Identifiers

PMID38701065
PMCPMC11095742

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