Emerging Technology Reflection
This week’s discussion presented two papers - Lee (2017) and Williams et al (2017) – to introduce the LAMP method of DNA amplification. The latter in particular connected this method to eDNA. One of the highlights of the discussion for me was the comparison between LAMP and traditional PCR methods. This was both really informative and brought up quite a few questions for me. In addition to the natural excitement of a fast-acting tool, what was especially intriguing to me was the potential for LAMP to be used with RNA. Since RNA degrades more quickly than DNA and may provide a more recent picture of a community or organism, it makes sense that a faster amplification tool could be paired nicely with it. I am curious as to how extracting the RNA would fit in, ie is there a field-appropriate extraction method or can crude prep be used in this scenario?
Another interesting use for this method is in environments that are more likely to contain inhibitors, as LAMP is more resistant to inhibition. This is something I’m curious about, as I am relatively unfamiliar with inhibition and the particular environments and taxa it affects the most. For those that have regular issues with it in their samples, an interesting comparison could be done between LAMP and PCR. Do the extra primer design components and equipment needed for LAMP methods outweigh the extra time and inhibition removal steps that may be needed in PCR? Could LAMP be used to assess the impact of inhibition on different samples?