Sensitive and specific colorimetric dot assay to detect eastern equine encephalomyelitis viral RNA in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) after polymerase chain reaction amplification

A sensitive and specific colorimetric dot assay following polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method has been developed to detect 0.1 pg of eastern equine encephalomyelitis viral (EEEV) RNA. The assay is 250-fold more sensitive than analysis by electrophoresis and is based on converting a 291-nucleotide sequence of the viral coat protein amino terminus into a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and amplifying the DNA using a specific primer pair and PCA. The amplified complementary DNA (cDNA) is denatured, adsorbed onto a nylon strip, baked, and detected with a digoxigenin-labeled probe. Dots with viral cDNA are stained dark red, whereas controls do not stain or stain lightly. The assay is very specific and sensitive and detects only EEEV. RNA of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, Keystone, Flanders, Tensaw, and western equine encephalitis viruses were not detected. EEEV (Ten Broeck) RNA was detected at the 10-ng level, indicating that the prototype we used may have different nucleotides in the region where the primer pair binds. The PCR amplified EEEV cDNA that was 92% homologous to the consensus sequence of EEEV. The detection of EEEV in the liver of an infected Emu bird and in field-collected mosquitoes from Florida and Massachusetts that were analyzed concurrently as blind samples by tissue culture plaque assay and by PCR dot analysis proved that the assay is sensitive and can be used to detect infected mosquitoes. The assay can detect at least 1 infected mosquito in a pool of 1,000 uninfected mosquitoes