Which nucleic acid amplification method operates at a constant temperature, uses Bst polymerase, and produces magnesium pyrophosphate precipitate allowing visual turbidity-based detection, making it suitable for point-of-care settings?
- A Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) ✓
- B Standard nested PCR
- C Sanger sequencing
- D Ligase chain reaction
Correct answer: A. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
Explanation
LAMP amplifies DNA at 60 to 65 degrees Celsius using Bst DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity, so no thermal cycler is needed. Amplification yields large amounts of pyrophosphate that forms an insoluble magnesium pyrophosphate precipitate, giving visible turbidity or fluorescence under UV, ideal for field and bedside diagnosis. Nested PCR still requires cycling between defined temperatures, which is the feature that disqualifies it here.
Reference: Ananthanarayan and Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology, 11th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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