Rapid in-situ detection kit (RisK): Development of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid identification of selected invasive alien fish in Malaysian freshwaters.

Vythalingam LM

Vythalingam LM(1), Hossain MAM(2), Bhassu S(3).
Author information:
(1)Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre
(NANOCAT), Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia Pur, 50603, Malaysia; Animal Genetics and Genome Evolutionary Lab
(AGAGEL),Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(2)Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre
(NANOCAT), Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia Pur, 50603, Malaysia.
(3)Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre
(NANOCAT), Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia Pur, 50603, Malaysia; Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture
(CEBAR), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Animal Genetics and Genome Evolutionary Lab
(AGAGEL),Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: [Email]

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mcp.2020.101683

Invasive alien fish species have become a silent treat towards the ecosystem especially the native fish population in Malaysia. There has been a need to develop rapid identification methods that can aid management teams in identifying fish species that are not native to our ecosystem. Current visual identification methods are highly tedious and require time, delaying action towards curbing the invasion. The LAMP assay successfully identified six popular invasive fish species in Malaysia. None of the LAMP assays showed false positives and the Limit of Detection of the LAMP primers were highly sensitive and could detect DNA samples up to 1 × 10-15 ng/μl. The LAMP primers designed were highly specific to the target species and did not amplify non target species. DNA sequencing was done to ensure the accuracy of LAMP assay results. This study demonstrates that LAMP is a suitable tool in species identification efforts of invasive fish species in Malaysia.