Combination of immunomagnetic separation and polymerase chain reaction for the simultaneous detection of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in food samples.

A method that combined the immunomagnetic separation (IMS) technique and the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method (i.e., the IMS-mPCR method) was developed for simultaneous detection of Listreria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in food samples. When only the multiplex PCR method was used, it was found that if cell numbers of each of the two target organisms (L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.) were above the detection limit, but differed by more than 2 logs-e.g., n x 10(7) to n x 10(4) or n x 10(6) to n x 10(3)--the organism presenting the lower numbers might go undetected. Following the enrichment step with universal preenrichment (UP) broth, if an IMS method using equal quantities of anti-Listeria and anti-Salmonella immunomagnetic beads was performed prior to PCR, both pathogens could be detected unambiguously. Such results could be obtained for target organisms in food samples, such as milk, dairy, and meat products, if similar enrichment and IMS steps were performed prior to PCR.     

Evaluation of a polymerase chain reaction-based test for detecting Salmonella spp. in food samples: Probelia Salmonella spp

A commercially available polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit was evaluated for the detection of Salmonella spp. in food samples. The test combines PCR amplification and sandwich hybridization of the amplified DNA in microtiter plates. The sensitivity and specificity was evaluated with 52 Salmonella strains and 51 non-Salmonella strains and showed that the test was entirely reliable. The threshold sensitivity was 10(2) CFU/ml. The limit of detection of dead cells that determines the minimum detection level of dead cells in food samples was superior to 10(6) CFU/25 g, a level rarely achieved in naturally contaminated samples. After an 18-h pre-enrichment step, the test could detect viable Salmonella in artificially contaminated food samples, even for the lower contamination level (3 CFU/25 g). There was complete agreement between the PCR test and the ISO 6579 bacteriological reference method with artificially contaminated samples. Regarding the accuracy of the results obtained from 253 naturally or noncontaminated foods and from 32 artificially contaminated foods, the agreement percentage was 99.6%. The fidelity of the technique was evaluated in a collaborative study with eight European laboratories and showed a correlation of 98.4%.     

微滴式数字聚合酶链式反应在食品安全检测领域的应用

微滴式数字聚合酶链式反应(droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, ddPCR)是一种新型核酸扩增技术,可对DNA或RNA分子采用绝对定量的方式进行分析。其结果具有更高的精准度、准确性和灵敏度,大大提升了数字PCR技术的可扩展性与实用性,促进了现代分子生物学在精准定量检测方面的发展和应用。本文重点论述了ddPCR法的技术原理、优势以及在食源性致病微生物定量检测、转基因成分分析、食品源性成分检测等食品安全检测领域的应用研究进展情况。     

实时荧光定量RT-PCR检测沙门氏菌活菌

沙门氏菌是引起食物中毒的最常见致病菌,而基于DNA水平的常规PCR(DNA-PCR)检测法虽然快速、灵敏,但在检测时无法区分死活菌,死亡的细菌会出现假阳性结果,严重影响日常检测结果的判断。提取沙门氏菌总RNA之后,采用一步法逆转录聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR),以沙门氏菌invAmRNA为检测对象,发现只有活的沙门氏菌显阳性,死亡的沙门氏菌呈阴性。而且RT-PCR法的稳定性良好,能够准确定量活的沙门氏菌,在纯培养时,检出限可达1CFU/3mL。实验表明,建立的RT-PCR法是一种能够快速、精确检测沙门氏菌活菌的方法。     

Detection of Salmonella in food over 30 h using enrichment and polymerase chain reaction

A 30-h method for the detection of Salmonella spp. in food was developed. The method involved preenrichment in buffered peptone water for 6–8 h, immunomagnetic separation (IMS) using Dynabeads^®anti-Salmonella , selective enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth for 16–18 h, lysis of bacterial cells in sodium dodecylsulfate and NaOH solution at 95°C, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers ST11 and ST15. The detection limit of the method was 10⁰cfu 25g⁻¹, as determined by the analysis of food samples artificially contaminated with S. enteritidis. When the reference material containing on average 5 cfu of S. panama was used for the artificial contamination, 3 out of 22 food samples were found to be false-negative. When the method was evaluated in comparison with the standard ISO 6579 method on 42 possibly naturally-contaminated food samples, one sample was found positive by the 30-h method, one sample was found positive by the ISO-method, and two samples were found positive by both methods. The developed method proved rapid, but produced a non-zero level of false-negative results.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction method for the qualitative detection of pistachio in food

In order to provide an appropriate method for the detection of pistachio (Pistacia vera) in food products, a novel real-time PCR was developed. The pistachio-specific primers and the TaqMan fluorogenic probe were designed to target the internal transcribed spacer between 18S ribosomal RNA and 5.8S ribosomal RNA genes. Using dilutions of the pistachio DNA, the intrinsic detection limit of the method was determined to be 0.012 pg. At specificity testing, the method was positive for 11 pistachio varieties and negative for 26 plant and animal species used in food industry. A detection limit of 0.0004% (w/w) was determined for pistachio nuts in model pastry. Practical applicability of the elaborated method was tested by the analysis of 44 food samples, out of which 7 food products were identified as containing undeclared pistachio. The developed real-time PCR may be utilized for sensitive and selective detection of pistachio in food products.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of pecan nuts in food

A real-time PCR-based method for the detection of the pecan (Carya illinoiensis) component in food is described. The method consists of DNA isolation by chaotropic solid phase extraction and the subsequent PCR with pecan-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorescent probe. The primers and the probe are targeted to the putative gene for allergenic vicilin-like seed storage protein of pecan. The method was positive for 10 pecan varieties and negative for all other tested plant materials used in food industry, including walnut. The intrinsic detection limit of the method was 1 pg pecan DNA which corresponds to 1.2 haploid genome copies. Using a series of model pastry samples with defined pecan contents, a practical detection limit of 0.01% (w/w) pecan was estimated. Practical applicability of the PCR method was tested by the analysis of 13 food samples; no discrepancies between the declared and detected pecan contents were found. The presented PCR method is useful for sensitive and selective detection of pecans in food samples and can be performed in one working day.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of macadamia nuts in food

A real-time PCR-based method for the detection of macadamia nuts (fruits of Macadamia integrifolia or M. tetraphylla or their hybrids) in food products is described. The method consists of DNA isolation by chaotropic solid phase extraction and subsequent PCR with macadamia-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorescent probe. The primers and the probe were targeted to the gene encoding for vicilin precursor. The method was positive for M. integrifolia and M. tetraphylla and negative for 16 other plant species used in food industry, including peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, and chestnuts. The DNA-based detection limit of the method was 1.45 pg. Using a series of model samples with defined macadamia nut contents, a practical detection limit of 0.02% (w/w) macadamia nuts was determined. Practical applicability of the PCR method was tested by the analysis of 14 confectionery samples. For all of the samples, results conforming to the labeling were obtained. The presented PCR method is useful for relatively fast, highly selective, and moderately sensitive detection of macadamia nuts in food samples.     

Application of nested polymerase chain reaction to detection of Salmonella in poultry environment

Isolation of Salmonella from environmental and processing-plant poultry samples requires the sampling of large numbers of areas within the poultry house or plant. Subsequently, the required number of samples necessitates a large volume of work for a microbiology laboratory, especially when the protocol requires the inclusion of a delayed secondary enrichment for the isolation of Salmonella. This study examined the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify those secondary enrichments containing Salmonella. The unique Salmonella virulence gene invA was chosen as the target for the development of a nested PCR because of its uniform distribution among Salmonella serotypes. The use of nested PCR primers increased the sensitivity of detection 100-fold, resulting in the detection of as few as four cells. There was a strong, statistically significant positive correlation between PCR and culture results as determined by chi-square (P < 0.001) and kappa (kappa = 0.915; excellent agreement) tests. Using PCR to screen primary enrichments for presumptive Salmonella contamination, we improved our efficiency at isolating Salmonella upon secondary enrichment by 20%, and no false negatives were observed. This method will not only validate the use of secondary enrichment procedures but also reduce costs and manpower required for the surveillance of Salmonella.     

餐饮食品中6病原菌叠氮丙啶-定量聚合酶链反应检测方法开发与检验数据分析

目的建立叠氮丙啶-定量聚合酶链反应法(propidiummonoazide-quantitativepolymerasechain reaction,PMA-qPCR)快速检测餐饮食品中6病原菌的方法。方法开发6种病原菌前增菌通用型培养基,采用热裂解方法提取样品DNA,采用PMA技术鉴别活菌与死菌,运用分子生物学技术检测样品中目标菌的特异性基因片段,建立病原菌的PMA-qPCR检测方法,开展餐饮食品样品病原菌筛查检测。结果本方法特异性良好,灵敏度较高, 1533份餐饮食品样品中检出病原菌71株,检出率为4.63%(71/1533)。结论本研究运用PMA-qPCR开展病原菌活菌检测技术研究,所建立研究方法可广泛应用于餐饮食品及相关食品中病原菌的快速筛查检测,具有较好的应用前景和现实意义。     

牛奶中志贺氏菌PCR检测方法的建立

根据Genbank志贺氏菌侵袭性质粒抗原H (ipaH)基因序列, 自行设计引物, 扩增特异的326 bp核酸片段, 经过优化PCR扩增条件, 建立了志贺氏菌特异、敏感、快速的PCR检测方法, 并对牛奶中的志贺氏菌进行了检测.特异性试验结果表明, 志贺氏菌参考菌株均能扩增出特异的核酸片段, 大肠杆菌、巴氏杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、沙门氏菌、蜡样芽孢杆菌、变形杆菌、绿脓杆菌的扩增结果均为阴性.敏感性试验结果表明, 采用试剂盒提取基因组, 该方法的敏感性可达到1.75×102 cfu/mL.人工污染牛奶的模拟检测结果表明, PCR方法的检测限为1.75×103 cfu/mL.     

Development of a novel dual priming oligonucleotide system-based PCR assay for specific detection of Salmonella from food samples

In this study, a novel dual priming oligonucleotide (DPO) system-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR; DPO system-based PCR) assay, which detected the fimY gene of Salmonella, was developed for the fast food testing. The DPO system-based PCR assay allowed a wide range of annealing temperatures at 48–68°C to efficiently amplify fimY gene with an analytical detection limit of 1.2 × 10² CFU/ml for Salmonella in pure cultures and artificially contaminated food matrix. Significantly, the presence of a bubble-like polydeoxyinosine (polyI) linker in the DPO system brought an unparalleled high specificity in the identification of target bacteria, and consequently, the false positives and mismatches of PCR process can be eliminated in priming. Applying the DPO system-based PCR assay to 285 collected food samples revealed that 29 samples were positive in this assay, in accordance with the results of conventional culture-based method, indicating a potential diagnostic capability. The high specificity of the DPO system-based PCR indicates its great potential to be a quick, reliable and practical method for the detection of Salmonella in foods.     

Real-time polymerase chain reaction detection of bovine DNA in meat and bone meal samples

We describe a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of bovine DNA extracted from meat and bone meal (MBM) samples. PCR primers were used to amplify a 271-bp region of the mitochondrial ATPase 8-ATPase 6 gene, and a fluorogenic probe (BOV1) labeled with a 5' FAM reporter and a 3' TAMRA quencher was designed to specifically detect bovine PCR product. The specificity of the BOV1 probe for the detection of the bovine PCR product was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization analysis of the probe with PCR products generated from ovine, porcine, and bovine genomic DNA extracted from blood and with PCR products generated from genomic DNA extracted from single-species laboratory scale rendered MBM samples. The specificity of the BOV1 probe was also evaluated in real-time PCR reactions including these genomic targets. Both methods demonstrated that the BOV1 probe was specific for the detection of bovine PCR product. The BOV1 probe had a detection limit of 0.0001% bovine material by Southern blot DNA probe hybridization analysis and a detection limit of 0.001% bovine material in the real-time PCR assay. Application of the real-time PCR assay to six industrial samples that had previously tested positive for the presence of bovine material with a conventional PCR assay yielded positive results with the real-time PCR assay for four samples.     

A rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay for the identification of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples.

A rapid and simple assay has been developed which allows specific detection of Listeria monocytogenes within 3.5 h in cultures prepared from suspect food samples and propagated 48 h in selective medium. The assay is based on PCR technology, and uses a specific primer set derived from sequences located down-stream of the hlyA gene. The specificity of the primer set was confirmed by testing 115 L. monocytogenes, 14 L. innocua, 5 L. seeligeri and 4 L. ivanovii isolates. The assay was compared to standard microbiological tests and gave identical results for 83 food samples, including 32 positives. These field trials indicate that the assay developed provides an alternative detection system for L. monocytogenes in foods, which can be used by the food industry.     

应用gyrA基因聚合酶链反应检测食品中弓形菌

建立了一种快速、敏感、特异检测弓形菌的PCR方法。选取弓形菌gyrA基因序列作为靶序列设计特异性引物Arco/gyrAF和Arco/gyrAR,进行PCR扩增实验。结果弓形菌呈现出一条298 bp的特异性条带,其余非弓形菌均无阳性扩增。灵敏度实验结果表明,该法可以检测到82.6 pg的DNA。经过对16份生鲜鸡肉样品的检测,9份样品中检测到弓形菌,样品阳性率为56.25%。该PCR方法可以高效、灵敏地检测食品中弓形菌,具有很强的实际应用价值。     

Detection of Salmonella spp. in tropical seafood by polymerase chain reaction

The incidence of Salmonella spp. in tropical seafood was studied using standard microbiological techniques and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Six of 20 finfish (30%), 4 of 20 clams (20%) and 1 of 20 shrimp (5%) were positive by culture techniques and by PCR. In a comparative study of different selective enrichment broths and selective plating media, more than one enrichment broth and selective agar were found to be necessary for efficient detection of Salmonella from seafood. Selenite cystine broth (SCB) was found to be more efficient compared to tetrathionate broth (TTB) while both bismuth sulfite agar (BSA) and hektoen enteric agar (HEA) were equally effective as selective plating media for fish. In the case of clams, HEA was found to be more effective. The presence of Salmonella spp. could be detected by PCR amplification of DNA extracted directly from the enrichment broths. In two cases, enrichment broths that were positive by PCR did not yield Salmonella by conventional methods.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of walnuts in food

A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the detection of the walnut (Juglans regia) component in food is described here. The method consists of DNA isolation by chaotropic solid phase extraction and the subsequent PCR with walnut-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorescent probe. The primers and the probe are targeted to the jug r2, a major allergen gene of walnut. The method was positive for 8 varieties of walnut and negative for all other tested plant materials used in food industry, including pecan nuts. The intrinsic detection limit of the method was 0.24 ng walnut DNA. Using a series of model pastry samples with defined walnut contents, a practical detection limit of 0.01% walnut content was estimated. Practical applicability of the PCR method was tested by the analysis of 13 food samples (bakery and confectionery products), out of which two cakes were found to contain walnuts although they were not adequately labelled. The presented PCR method is useful for sensitive and selective detection of walnuts in food samples and can be performed in one working day.     

A novel real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of hazelnuts in food

A real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction)-based method for the detection of hazelnuts (nuts of Corylus avellana or C. maxima) in confectionery and bakery products is described. The method consists of DNA isolation by chaotropic solid phase extraction and the subsequent PCR with hazelnut-specific primers and a TaqMan fluorescent probe. The primers and the probe are targeted to the hsp1 gene encoding for a low molecular weight heat-shock protein. The method was positive for five hazelnut varieties approved in Slovakia and negative for all other tested plant materials used in food industry including peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, cashews and chestnuts. The intrinsic detection limit of the method was 13 pg hazelnut DNA, which corresponds to approximately 27 genome equivalents (1C). Using a series of model pastry samples with defined hazelnut contents, a practical detection limit of 0.01% (w/w) hazelnut was determined. Practical applicability of the PCR method was tested by the analysis of 20 food samples (confectionery and bakery products) along with ELISA. For all of the food samples, identical results were obtained by both methods, which conformed to the labelling. The presented PCR method is useful for sensitive and selective detection of hazelnuts in food samples and can be performed in one working day.     

Development of a polymerase chain reaction-based assay for the detection of Alternaria fungal contamination in food products.

Alternaria sp. are important fungal contaminants of vegetable, fruit, and grain products, including Alternaria alternata, a contaminant of tomato products. To date, the Howard method, based on microscopic observation of fungal filaments, has been the standard examination for inspection of tomato products. We report development of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for detection of Alternaria DNA. PCR primers were designed to anneal to the internal transcribed regions ITS1 and ITS2 of the 5.8S rRNA gene of Alternaria but not to other microbial or tomato DNA. We demonstrate use of the PCR assay to detect Alternaria DNA in experimentally infested and commercially obtained tomato sauce and tomato powder. Use of the PCR method offers a rapid and sensitive assay for the presence of Alternaria DNA in tomato products. The apparent breakdown of DNA in tomato sauce may limit the utility of the assay to freshly prepared products. The assay for tomato powder is not affected by storage time.