fairfolio
Saved Projects

Rapid and Cost-Effective Colorimetric Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Water via Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Targeting the mecA Gene

ISEF · 2025 Microbiology

Itomura, Luke · Punahou School

Overview

Hawaii has a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections compared to the national average. Environmental water is a major vehicle for the transmission of MRSA. Current MRSA detection methods rely on culture-based techniques and other biochemical tests, often requiring 2-3 days, delaying critical interventions and increasing transmission risks. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) offers a rapid, cost-effective alternative, enabling high-specificity DNA amplification within 30-60 minutes under isothermal conditions. Previous studies have used LAMP for MRSA detection in clinical samples, but a gap remains in its application in wastewater and other water sources. This study designed and validated a LAMP assay targeting the mecA gene, which confers resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, and tested it on wastewater and water samples. Validation was performed and included MRSA isolates as positive controls and no-template negative controls. Extracted DNA from three sites across the Ala Wai Canal and three wastewater treatment plants was combined with a LAMP master mix and incubated at 65ºC for 60 minutes. Positive and negative results were determined by a color change using phenol red. The LAMP assay demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity. All Ala Wai Canal samples and 50% of the influent wastewater samples tested positive for mecA, highlighting the need for public health intervention. This study successfully developed and validated a rapid, cost-effective LAMP assay for detecting MRSA in water from extracted DNA within one hour. Its accessibility and efficiency can enhance public health monitoring and improve MRSA surveillance in resource-limited settings, aiding infection prevention efforts.

Competition history

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

Source: Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google