Abstract: The aim of the study was to develop a method for the determination of Salmonella by recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA). A specific primer pair was designed based on the conserved sequence of the invasion protein A gene (invA) of Salmonella. The reaction time was optimized and the RPA method was performed successfully at 38 ℃ for 20 min in a water bath: the target fragment was effectively amplified. The RPA reaction could specifically detect Salmonella rather than 26 other foodborne pathogens. The detection limit (LOD) of RPA was 1.1 × 10-3 ng/μL with the genomic DNA of Salmonella as a template, which was consistent with that of real-time PCR. For artificially contaminated lamp, chicken and broccoli samples with a bacterial concentration of 4 CFU/25 g, Salmonella could be detected by RPA after 8 hours of culture. Consistent results were obtained using real-time PCR. The RPA assay was specific, simple and rapid, and could represent a new direction for the detection of foodborne pathogens.

Key words: Salmonella, invA, recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), detection