A Chelex-100-based rapid DNA extraction method and its application in the detection of shrimp pathogens

The Pacific white shrimp is one of the world's most economically significant aquatic species, being one of the top three species cultured globally. However, the increasing incidence of diseases such as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease and hepatopancreatic microsporidia have led to a serious decline in shrimp production and severe economic losses. With the increasing demand for pathogen detection in shrimp farms, rapid DNA extraction technology has become more sophisticated. In this study, a rapid and crude method of extracting genomic DNA from shrimp muscle and hepatopancreas using Chelex-100 was established. DNA was successfully extracted from muscle and hepatopancreatic tissues using both the Chelex-100 method and commercial kits. The internal reference genes of shrimp were successfully amplified via PCR and real-time PCR using the obtained DNA samples. Moreover, a field assay was successfully conducted using real-time PCR and real-time enzymatic recombinase amplification (real-time ERA), indicating that the quality of the DNA extracted using Chelex-100 is sufficient for use in conjunction with nucleic acid amplification to detect pathogens in shrimps. Chelex-100 is an efficient method for extracting DNA from shrimp muscle or hepatopancreas tissues, with a short extraction time, high extraction efficiency, and simple operation, making it appropriate for use in the detection of pathogens in shrimp.