Use of a rapid recombinase-aided amplification assay for Mycoplasma pneumoniae detection

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the most common causative pathogens of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), accounting for as many as 30–50% of CAP during peak years. An early and rapid diagnostic method is key for guiding clinicians in their choice of antibiotics. METHODS: The recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) assay is a recently developed, rapid detection method that has been used for the detection of several pathogens. The assays were performed in a one-step single tube reaction at 39° Celsius within 15–30 min. In this study, we established an RAA assay for M. pneumoniae using clinical specimens for validation and commercial real-time PCR as the reference method. RESULTS: The analytical sensitivity of the RAA assay was 2.23 copies per reaction, and no cross-reactions with any of the other 15 related respiratory bacterial pathogens were observed. Compared with the commercial real-time PCR assay used when testing 311 respiratory specimens, the RAA assay obtained 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity with a kappa value of 1. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the proposed RAA assay will be of benefit as a faster, sensitive, and specific alternative tool for the detection of M. pneumoniae.