Work

High-Fidelity, One-Pot Nucleic Acid Amplification via OMEGA IsrB Nickase Cycling for Clinical Pathogen Detection

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Nucleic acid amplification technologies are pivotal in diagnostics but face challenges from nonspecific amplification and inefficient proofreading. CRISPR-based methods are hindered by persistent protein occupation postcleavage, limiting scalability. Here, we present an OMEGA IsrB Nickase Cyclic Exponential (ONCE) amplification, a novel isothermal strategy leveraging the RNA-guided nickase IsrB for site-specific proofreading. ONCE uniquely integrates DNA polymerase to cyclically displace IsrB from target sites, enabling high-fidelity, one-pot exponential amplification. Systematic validation demonstrates attomolar sensitivity and single-nucleotide mismatch discrimination, outperforming those of CRISPR-Cas9 and conventional nickases. Applied to bacterial detection, ONCE quantifies Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 4.16 CFU/mL within 70 min, achieving 94.12% sensitivity and 100% specificity in clinical urine samples with no false-positives compared to qPCR. This work establishes ONCE as a robust, scalable tool for precision diagnostics in clinical and point-of-care settings.

Source: JACS Au

DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.5c00379

Authors: Yusheng Liao, Yifan Sun, Hui Yu, Jiali Ren, Fengjiao He

Institutions: Hunan University, Central South University of Forestry and Technology

Language: English

Topic: CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,500