An optical diagnostic system using isothermal amplification technique for Phalaenopsis orchids

Early detection of pathogens is important for surveillance and control of infectious diseases among Phalaenopsis orchids. Therefore, the current study presents an integrated microfluidic system for rapid and automatic detection of Phalaenopsis orchid viruses. The entire process, including pathogen-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, nucleic acid amplification using reverse transcription loop-mediated-isothermal-amplification (RT-LAMP) and optical detection by measuring turbidity change, can be automatically performed on a single chip within 65 minutes. This is the first time that an integrated microfluidic system for the detection of Phalaenopsis orchid viruses has been demonstrated. The specificity and sensitivity of the system were also explored in this study to validate its performance. One of the most prevalent orchid viruses, Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV), was used in current study to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed system.