Detection of human norovirus in cherry tomatoes, blueberries and vegetable salad by using a receptor-binding capture and magnetic sequestration (RBCMS) method Original Research Article

In this study, we developed a sensitive receptor-binding capture and magnetic sequestration (RBCMS) method capable of concentrating human norovirus (HuNoV) from various food samples within few hours. We found that distilled water was suitable for the elution of HuNoV from inoculated tomatoes and blueberries, and glycine buffer improved the elution of HuNoV from inoculated salad. A significant improvement in post-extraction RNA yield was achieved by sequentially heat-releasing and column-extracting over either technique alone. The viral recovery of the RBCMS method was significantly higher than both the same-day PEG method (90 min PEG precipitation) and the two-day PEG method (overnight PEG precipitation) with a recovery rate of 8.75%, 1.03% and 5.40%, respectively. The detection limit of HuNoV by RBCMS method was significantly improved to 0.056 RTU. The estimated minimal concentration powers (MCPs) were 6.11, 30.48, and 63.60-fold for the same-day PEG, two-day PEG, and RBCMS methods, respectively. RNase protection assay suggests that the viral genome was protected from RNase attack by remaining within the viral capsid. The signal detected by the RBCMS method might be more biologically relevant, as it requires both intact viral capsid to bind to HBGA receptors and the presence of viral genome to be amplified. Overall, the RBCMS method takes significantly less time than current PEG precipitation methods, recovers a higher yield of HuNoV from various food samples, and hence exhibits higher sensitivity.