Rapid Detection of Enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in Meat Samples Using Immunomagnetic Separation Polymerase Chain Reaction (IMS−PCR)

Rapid detection of enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in meat samples was accomplished with an immunomagnetic separation polymerase chain reaction (IMS−PCR). First, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific to C. perfringens was generated. The antibody showed strong binding to C. perfringens and no binding to non-Clostridia bacteria, except a weak cross-reaction to Staphylococcus aureus based on the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Then, magnetic beads were coated with the mAb, and the IMS−PCR system was developed. With the optimized conditions, the IMS−PCR assay was capable of detecting as few as 10 colony forming units (CFU)/g of C. perfringens cells in the meat sample within 10 h. Of the 116 collected samples (26 chicken samples, 20 beef samples, 30 pork samples, 20 fish samples, and 20 processed meat samples) examined with IMS−PCR, 36 (31%) were C. perfringens-positive samples and 2 (1.7%) were enterotoxigenic C. perfringens-positive samples. The IMS−PCR results gave a good agreement with the results obtained by conventional culture methods. In comparison to conventional culture methods, the IMS−PCR is a rapid and specific method and has potential use as a screening tool for enterotoxigenic C. perfringens in food samples.