Rapid Detection and Differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari in Food, Using Multiplex Real-Time PCR

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. MAYR ◽  
S. LICK ◽  
J. BAUER ◽  
D. THÄRIGEN ◽  
U. BUSCH ◽  
...  

A multiplex real-time PCR assay based on four differently labeled TaqMan probes for detection and differentiation of the thermophilic Campylobacter species C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari was established and validated in food products. This assay combines two previously published PCR assays for C. jejuni and C. coli with a newly developed detection assay for C. lari and an internal amplification control system. The selectivity of the method was determined by analyzing 70 Campylobacter strains and 43 strains of other bacteria. The sensitivity was 50 fg of C. jejuni and C. lari DNA and 500 fg of C. coli DNA per PCR. It was possible to detect 1 to 10 CFU/25 g of food before preenrichment of all three species. More than 400 samples of various foods (poultry, seafood, and meat) were analyzed after 48 h of preenrichment parallel to the conventional diagnostic method of culture and biochemical identification. Using the established real-time PCR assay, 55.4% of the samples were recognized as positive for thermophilic Campylobacter species, whereas with the conventional method only 40.3% of the samples were positive. The real-time PCR assay also detected contaminations with two different Campylobacter species in 32.6% of the analyzed poultry samples, a finding of epidemiological interest. Compared with the original PCR method, which was established for the differentiation of bacterial isolates of C. jejuni and C. coli, this new method also detects and distinguishes C. lari, was validated as an analytical tool for food analysis, and provides reliable and extensive results within 2 days.

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 2015-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOONBAE HONG ◽  
WOO KYUNG JUNG ◽  
JUN MAN KIM ◽  
SO HYUN KIM ◽  
HYE CHEONG KOO ◽  
...  

Campylobacter species are one of the most common causes of bacterial diarrhea in humans worldwide. The consumption of foods contaminated with two Campylobacter species, C. jejuni and C. coli, is usually associated with most of the infections in humans. In this study, a rapid, reliable, and sensitive multiplex real-time quantitative PCR was developed for the simultaneous detection, identification, and quantification of C. jejuni and C. coli. In addition, the developed method was applied to the 50 samples of raw chicken meat collected from retail stores in Korea. C. jejuni and C. coli were detected in 88 and 86% of the samples by real-time quantitative PCR and the conventional microbiological method, respectively. The specificity of the primer and probe sets was confirmed with 30 C. jejuni, 20 C. coli, and 35 strains of other microbial species. C. jejuni and C. coli could be detected with high specificity in less than 4 h, with a detection limit of 1 log CFU/ml by the developed real-time PCR. The average counts (log CFU per milliliter) of C. jejuni or C. coli obtained by the conventional methods and by the real-time PCR assay were statistically correlated with a correlation coefficient (R2) between 0.73 and 0.78. The real-time PCR assay developed in this study is useful for screening for the presence and simultaneous differential quantification of C. jejuni and C. coli.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann C Grimm ◽  
Jennifer L Cashdollar ◽  
Frederick P Williams ◽  
G Shay Fout

Astrovirus is a common cause of gastroenteritis in humans that has been determined to be responsible for outbreaks of illness in several countries. Since astrovirus can be waterborne, it is important to be able to identify this virus in environmental water. We have developed and optimized a reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) method that was able to amplify all eight astrovirus serotypes in a single reaction. In addition, a positive control construct was designed so that any inhibitors of this astrovirus assay could be detected. The assay was adapted for use in a real-time PCR assay and the sensitivity of these two methods was compared. The real-time assay was then combined with CaCo2 cell culture to produce an integrated cell culture/RT–PCR (ICC/RT–PCR) assay that was able to detect low levels of astrovirus after an incubation of 7 days or less. Also, the sensitivity of the ICC/RT–PCR assay was compared with RT–PCR alone. The methods were used to detect astrovirus in acute phase illness stool samples as well as in a water sample spiked with astrovirus.Key words: astrovirus, RT–PCR, real-time PCR, ICC/RT–PCR, environmental water.


2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 7430-7434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor G. Phister ◽  
David A. Mills

ABSTRACT Traditional methods to detect the spoilage yeast Dekkera bruxellensis from wine involve lengthy enrichments. To overcome this difficulty, we developed a quantitative real-time PCR method to directly detect and enumerate D. bruxellensis in wine. Specific PCR primers to D. bruxellensis were designed to the 26S rRNA gene, and nontarget yeast and bacteria common to the winery environment were not amplified. The assay was linear over a range of cell concentrations (6 log units) and could detect as little as 1 cell per ml in wine. The addition of large amounts of nontarget yeasts did not impact the efficiency of the assay. This method will be helpful to identify possible routes of D. bruxellensis infection in winery environments. Moreover, the time involved in performing the assay (3 h) should enable winemakers to more quickly make wine processing decisions in order to reduce the threat of spoilage by D. bruxellensis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitra Houhoula ◽  
Stamatios Koussissis ◽  
Vladimiros Lougovois ◽  
John Tsaknis ◽  
Dimitra Kassavita ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was the implementation of molecular techniques in the detection and quantification of allergic substances of peanut in various kinds of food products, e.g., breakfast cereals, chocolates and biscuits that are frequently related to allergies. In some cases, the presence of peanuts can be due to contamination during production and are not declared on the label. A total of 152 samples were collected from supermarkets and were analysed by a Real Time PCR method. The results indicated that 125 samples (83,3%) were found positive in peanut traces but the most important finding is that from the 84 samples that had no allergen declaration for peanuts, 48 (57,1%) of them were found positive. In conclusion, Real Time PCR can be a very important tool for the rapid detection and quantification of food allergens.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. RASSCHAERT ◽  
K. HOUF ◽  
J. VAN HENDE ◽  
L. de ZUTTER

The relation between internal carriage and surface contamination with thermophilic Campylobacter species in broilers was examined by molecular typing methods. Samples from 39 flocks were collected in three Belgian poultry slaughterhouses. From each flock, crop swabs before slaughter and intestines and neck skins during slaughter were collected. A total of 309 isolates were identified at species level and further characterized by flagellin gene A PCR/restriction fragment length polymorphism and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Isolates were identified as Campylobacter jejuni (90%), Campylobacter coli (8.7%), and Campylobacter lari (2.2%), and 27 genotypes could be distinguished by combining the two molecular methods. Seventy-two percent of the flocks arriving at the abattoir were colonized with campylobacters. After slaughter, 79% of the flocks had contaminated neck skins. In six flocks, genotypes isolated from the neck skins were also found in the alimentary tract from previously slaughtered flocks. Four of these flocks were initially free of Campylobacter. These four flocks might have had no contaminated carcasses after logistic slaughtering.


Author(s):  
Trong Pham Nhu ◽  
Long Le Thanh ◽  
Trung Nguyen Thanh ◽  
Yen Ta Thi ◽  
Loan Pham Thi ◽  
...  

Bifidobacterium strains with probiotic effects have been widely used in dairy products, food additives and pharmaceuticals. Especially, Bifidobacterium bifidum (B. bifidum) is usually presented into food products such as functional food. However, it is difficult to detect, and quantify B. bifidum in a sample with a combination of different probiotics. In Vietnam, there is no official standard method to identify and quantify B. bifidum in the sample with the mix of probiotic species. To fulfil the requirements of a robust quality management, we have developed a quantitative real-time PCR assay based on groEL gene for accurate identification and quantification of Bifidobacterium bifidum. The developed assay allows an unambiguous speciesspecific detection. We built the real-time PCR method to detect and identify B. bifidum in functional and supplemented food with specific up to 100% and reproducibility (SR<0.25) suitable with Annex F AOAC: 2016. This real-time PCR method is rapidly and effectively than conventional method. It takes only 24 hours to detect and identify B. bifidum in compare with at least a period of 3-5 days for conventional methods. The low quantitative limit is 105 CFU/g/mL, which is consistent with probiotic and powdered milk products with a declared quality of more than 106 CFU/g/mL.


2008 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 2059-2066 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER SCHÖNENBRÜCHER ◽  
KATRIN ANNETTE GÖBEL ◽  
AMIR ABDULMAWJOOD ◽  
JÜRGEN A. RICHT ◽  
MICHAEL BÜLTE

The removal of certain central nervous system (CNS) tissues (part of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk material) from the food chain is one of the highest priority tasks associated with avoiding contamination of the human food chain with the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. A recently developed real-time PCR assay and three commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of CNS tissues in minced meat and three types of heat-treated sausages were evaluated. Bovine brain was used for spiking of internal reference material, and its detectability was examined during storage times of 12 months (for frozen minced meat and liver sausage) and 24 months (for sausages treated with medium and high heat). The real-time PCR method and both ELISA kits detected 0.1% CNS tissue in frozen minced meat and 0.1 or 1% CNS tissue in heat-treated meat products. The detectability of the amplified mRNA target region with the PCR assay was similar to the detectability of antigen by the ELISAs. Because the real-time PCR method also can be used to distinguish cattle, ovine, and caprine CNS tissues from porcine CNS tissues, it seems to be suitable as a routine diagnostic test for the sensitive and specific detection of CNS tissues in meat and meat products.


2010 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Randall ◽  
Fabrizio Lemma ◽  
John Rodgers ◽  
Ana Vidal ◽  
Felicity Clifton-Hadley

A common problem of both conventional and real-time PCR assays is failure of DNA amplification due to the presence of inhibitory substances in samples. In view of this, our aim was to develop and evaluate internal amplification controls (IACs) for use with an existing duplex real-time PCR assay for Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni. Both competitive and non-competitive IACs were developed and evaluated. The competitive approach involved a DNA fragment of the coding region of the fish viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus, flanked by the mapA PCR primers, whilst the non-competitive approach utilized an extra set of universal 16S rDNA primers. Both IAC-PCR assay types were evaluated using cultures of Campylobacter and chicken caecal content samples. Both IACs were sensitive to caecal inhibitors, making them suitable for detecting inhibition which could lead to false-negatives. Results showed that both IACs at optimum concentrations worked well without reducing the overall sensitivity of the PCR assay. Compared to culture, the optimized competitive IAC-PCR assay detected 45/47 positives (sensitivity 93.6 %, specificity 80.1 %); however, it had the advantage over culture in that it could detect mixed infections of C. coli and C. jejuni and was capable of giving a result for a sample within a day.


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