scholarly journals Development of a real-time PCR assay with an internal amplification control for the screening of Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coliin foods

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 554-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Auvray ◽  
C. Lecureuil ◽  
F. Dilasser ◽  
J. Taché ◽  
S. Derzelle
2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Bjornsdottir-Butler ◽  
Jessica L. Jones ◽  
Ronald Benner ◽  
William Burkhardt

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangfang Hu ◽  
Yigang Yu ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Xinwei Wu ◽  
Xinglong Xiao ◽  
...  

Cronobacter sakazakii is a severe virulent strain that is frequently detected in powdered infant formula (PIF). Therefore, it is necessary to develop a fast and specific detection method. The specificity of our newly developed quantitative real-time PCR (qRT–PCR) was validated with DNA from 46 strains. Among them, 12 C. sakazakii strains were correctly amplified, whereas no positive florescent signal was observed from 34 nontarget controls. The detection limit of C. sakazakii was about 110 CFU/mL in broth and 1100 CFU/g in PIF. After enrichment in buffered peptone water for 6 h, our developed qRT–PCR assay could reliably detect C. sakazakii when the inoculation level was as low as 2 CFU/25 g (0.08 CFU/g) in PIF. The growth of C. sakazakii could be inhibited by the presence of Lactobacillus pentosus and Bacillus cereus, which used a longer enrichment period before the isolation was accomplished. However, at 5 and 50 CFU/25 g inoculation levels of C. sakazakii in the presence of 4 × 106 CFU L. pentosus/25 g or of 2 × 104 CFU B. cereus/25 g, the qRT–PCR assay could detect the presence of Cronobacter even though these artificially spiked samples were negative in culture. Therefore, our results indicated that the qRT–PCR assay could detect samples containing inhibitors and could avoid false negatives by using an internal amplification control.


2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (7) ◽  
pp. 905-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Gilmour ◽  
Linda Chui ◽  
Theodore Chiu ◽  
Dobryan M. Tracz ◽  
Kathryn Hagedorn ◽  
...  

The isolation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) other than serogroup O157 from clinical stool samples is problematic due to the lack of differential phenotypic characteristics from non-pathogenic E. coli. The development of molecular reagents capable of identifying both toxin and serogroup-specific genetic determinants holds promise for a more comprehensive characterization of stool samples and isolation of STEC strains. In this study, 876 stool samples from paediatric patients with gastroenteritis were screened for STEC using a cytotoxicity assay, commercial immunoassay and a conventional PCR targeting Shiga-toxin determinants. In addition, routine culture methods for isolating O157 STEC were also performed. The screening assays identified 45 stools presumptively containing STEC, and using non-differential culture techniques a total of 20 O157 and 22 non-O157 strains were isolated. These included STEC serotypes O157 : H7, O26 : H11, O121 : H19, O26 : NM, O103 : H2, O111 : NM, O115 : H18, O121 : NM, O145 : NM, O177 : NM and O5 : NM. Notably, multiple STEC serotypes were isolated from two clinical stool samples (yielding O157 : H7 and O26 : H11, or O157 : H7 and O103 : H2 isolates). These data were compared to molecular serogroup profiles determined directly from the stool enrichment cultures using a LUX real-time PCR assay targeting the O157 fimbrial gene lpfA, a microsphere suspension array targeting allelic variants of espZ and a gnd-based molecular O-antigen serogrouping method. The genetic profile of individual stool cultures indicated that the espZ microsphere array and lpfA real-time PCR assay could accurately predict the presence and provide preliminary typing for the STEC strains present in clinical samples. The gnd-based molecular serogrouping method provided additional corroborative evidence of serogroup identities. This toolbox of molecular methods provided robust detection capabilities for STEC in clinical stool samples, including co-infection of multiple serogroups.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 2148-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Qin ◽  
Eileen J. Klein ◽  
Emmanouil Galanakis ◽  
Anita A. Thomas ◽  
Jennifer R. Stapp ◽  
...  

Timely accurate diagnosis of Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli(STEC) infections is important. We evaluated a laboratory-developed real-time PCR (LD-PCR) assay targetingstx1,stx2, andrfbEO157with 2,386 qualifying stool samples submitted to the microbiology laboratory of a tertiary care pediatric center between July 2011 and December 2013. Broth cultures of PCR-positive samples were tested for Shiga toxins by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (ImmunoCard STAT! enterohemorrhagicE. coli[EHEC]; Meridian Bioscience) and cultured in attempts to recover both O157 and non-O157 STEC.E. coliO157 and non-O157 STEC were detected in 35 and 18 cases, respectively. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) occurred in 12 patients (10 infected with STEC O157, one infected with STEC O125ac, and one with PCR evidence of STEC but no resulting isolate). Among the 59 PCR-positive STEC specimens from 53 patients, only 29 (54.7%) of the associated specimens were toxin positive by EIA. LD-PCR differentiated STEC O157 from non-O157 usingrfbEO157, and LD-PCR results prompted successful recovery ofE. coliO157 (n= 25) and non-O157 STEC (n= 8) isolates, although the primary cultures and toxin assays were frequently negative. A rapid “mega”-multiplex PCR (FilmArray gastrointestinal panel; BioFire Diagnostics) was used retrospectively, and results correlated with LD-PCR findings in 25 (89%) of the 28 sorbitol-MacConkey agar culture-negative STEC cases. These findings demonstrate that PCR is more sensitive than EIA and/or culture and distinguishes between O157 and non-O157 STEC in clinical samples and thatE. coliO157:H7 remains the predominant cause of HUS in our institution. PCR is highly recommended for rapid diagnosis of pediatric STEC infections.


2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangjin Jung ◽  
Christopher L. Rupert ◽  
Benjamin Chapman ◽  
Anna C. S. Porto Fett ◽  
John B. Luchansky

ABSTRACT In total, 115 marinade samples (58 fresh marinades and 57 spent marinades) were collected over 12 months from specialty retailers (four individual stores) near Raleigh, NC. These marinades were screened for total mesophilic aerobic plate count (M-APC), total psychrotrophic aerobic plate count (P-APC), and Enterobacteriaceae. These marinades were also screened for the seven regulated serogroups of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli. Stores A and B used immersion to marinade raw beef cuts, whereas stores C-1 and C-2 used vacuum tumbling. In general, marinade temperatures at the stores ranged from 1.8 to 6.6°C, and beef cuts were marinated from a few minutes to up to 3 days. Regardless of the process used to marinade meat, levels of M-APC and P-APC in fresh marinades ranged from 3.4 to 4.7 and 1.4 to 1.8 log CFU/mL, respectively, whereas Enterobacteriaceae were not detected in any fresh marinades, even after enrichment. However, levels of M-APC, P-APC, and Enterobacteriaceae in spent marinades collected from stores C-1 and C-2 (ca. 3.6 to 7.1 log CFU/mL) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared with levels of these same types of bacteria enumerated from spent marinades collected at stores A and B (ca. ≤0.7 to 4.9 log CFU/mL). None of the 115 marinade samples tested positive for Shiga toxin–producing E. coli by using a BAX system real-time PCR assay. No significant (P > 0.05) association was observed between microbial levels (i.e., M-APC, P-APC, and Enterobacteriaceae) and the temperature or duration of the marination process. Levels of M-APC, P-APC, and Enterobacteriaceae in spent marinades were significantly affected by the marination method (P < 0.05), with levels, in general, being higher in marinades used for tumbling. Thus, retailers must continue to keep marinade solutions and meat at a safe temperature (i.e., ≤4°C) and to properly and frequently sanitize the equipment and environment in both the processing area and deli case.


2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (18) ◽  
pp. 5840-5847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Nordstrom ◽  
Michael C. L. Vickery ◽  
George M. Blackstone ◽  
Shelley L. Murray ◽  
Angelo DePaola

ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an estuarine bacterium that is the leading cause of shellfish-associated cases of bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States. Our laboratory developed a real-time multiplex PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of the thermolabile hemolysin (tlh), thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh), and thermostable-related hemolysin (trh) genes of V. parahaemolyticus. The tlh gene is a species-specific marker, while the tdh and trh genes are pathogenicity markers. An internal amplification control (IAC) was incorporated to ensure PCR integrity and eliminate false-negative reporting. The assay was tested for specificity against >150 strains representing eight bacterial species. Only V. parahaemolyticus strains possessing the appropriate target genes generated a fluorescent signal, except for a late tdh signal generated by three strains of V. hollisae. The multiplex assay detected <10 CFU/reaction of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in the presence of >104 CFU/reaction of total V. parahaemolyticus bacteria. The real-time PCR assay was utilized with a most-probable-number format, and its results were compared to standard V. parahaemolyticus isolation methodology during an environmental survey of Alaskan oysters. The IAC was occasionally inhibited by the oyster matrix, and this usually corresponded to negative results for V. parahaemolyticus targets. V. parahaemolyticus tlh, tdh, and trh were detected in 44, 44, and 52% of the oyster samples, respectively. V. parahaemolyticus was isolated from 33% of the samples, and tdh + and trh + strains were isolated from 19 and 26%, respectively. These results demonstrate the utility of the real-time PCR assay in environmental surveys and its possible application to outbreak investigations for the detection of total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus.


Author(s):  
John B. Kalule ◽  
Karen H. Keddy ◽  
Anthony Smith ◽  
Mark P. Nicol ◽  
Lourens Robberts

Introduction: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an emerging infectious pathogen which could lead to haemolytic uremic syndrome. Even though previous studies have compared the performance of CHROMagarTMSTEC to real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Europe, no study has been done to assess its performance on African isolates.Objectives: This project aimed to validate and test an in-house-developed duplex real-time PCR and use it as a reference standard to determine the performance of CHROMagarTMSTEC on African isolates from diarrhoeic stool samples.Methods: This study evaluated STEC diagnostic technology on African isolates. An in-house-developed duplex real-time PCR assay for detection of stx1 and stx2 was validated and tested on diarrhoeic stool samples and then used as a reference standard to assess the performance of CHROMagarTMSTEC. Real-time PCR was used to screen for stx in tryptic soy broth and the suspected STEC isolates, while conventional PCR was used to detect the other virulence genes possessed by the isolates.Results: The real-time PCR limit of detection was 5.3 target copies/μL of broth. The mean melting temperature on melt-curve analysis for detection of stx1 was 58.2 °C and for stx2 was 65.3 °C. Of 226 specimens screened, real-time PCR detected stx in 14 specimens (6.2%, 95% confidence interval = 3.43% – 10.18%). The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of the CHROMagarTMSTEC were 33.3%, 77.4%, 95.3% and 11.3%.Conclusions: The in-house developed real-time PCR assay is a sensitive and specific option for laboratory detection of STEC as compared to CHROMagarTMSTEC in this setting.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document