Nature Communications (Aug 2022)

A suite of PCR-LwCas13a assays for detection and genotyping of Treponema pallidum in clinical samples

  • Wentao Chen,
  • Hao Luo,
  • Lihong Zeng,
  • Yuying Pan,
  • Jonathan B. Parr,
  • Yinbo Jiang,
  • Clark H. Cunningham,
  • Kelly L. Hawley,
  • Justin D. Radolf,
  • Wujian Ke,
  • Jiangli Ou,
  • Jianjiang Yang,
  • Bin Yang,
  • Heping Zheng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32250-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Clinical diagnosis of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum (TPA), the causative agent of syphilis, depends upon serological testing, which has reduced sensitivity for some stages of the disease. Accompanying methods to complement serological testing also have distinct limitations. In this work, authors develop an assay that combines PCR with CRISPR-LwCas13a, and demonstrate sensitivity and specificity on clinically confirmed syphilis samples.