A SIMPLE AND RAPID DETECTION BY PCR OF ENTEROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI IN NATURALLY CONTAMINATED VEGETABLES
ABSTRACT Contaminated vegetables have been identified as one of the principal sources of foodborne illnesses. Escherichia coli is one of the bacteria that can contaminate vegetables and cause serious foodborne disease. The development of simple and rapid assays for detection of E. coli would enable...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of rapid methods and automation in microbiology 2008-06, Vol.16 (2), p.113-121 |
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Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | ABSTRACT
Contaminated vegetables have been identified as one of the principal sources of foodborne illnesses. Escherichia coli is one of the bacteria that can contaminate vegetables and cause serious foodborne disease. The development of simple and rapid assays for detection of E. coli would enable official agencies and food industries to identify contaminated foodstuffs in a timelier manner. In this work, we detected E. coli contamination in four types of vegetables using a 24 h procedure. This method is very specific, rapid and simple to use in the laboratory. Indeed, the enrichment, DNA isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification procedures described here can also be used for detection of E. coli in other foods.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Foodborne disease remains an important public health threat worldwide; one of the most important food safety hazards is associated with raw vegetables. Several studies have found that products can support the growth of enteric bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella and Escherichia coli. Culture techniques are universally recognized as the standard method for detecting pathogenic bacteria in foods. Bacteria are detected and subsequently identified by growth on solid selective culture media and by analysis of metabolic properties or serotyping. This process is lengthy and may last 5–10 days or more. In our investigation, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of E. coli in vegetables was realized within 24 h. The pre‐enrichment step used in this study did not have any inhibiting effect on the PCR. Therefore, it became possible to rapidly and directly detect E. coli in raw vegetables by the PCR technique just by heating samples. |
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ISSN: | 1060-3999 1745-4581 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1745-4581.2008.00110.x |