Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Methods and Protocols in Food Science ((MPFS))

  • 470 Accesses

Abstract

Protozoan pathogen contamination of leafy green presents a health risk for fresh produce consumers. This chapter describes a simple multiplex PCR (mPCR ) assay for simultaneous detection of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., Cyclospora cayetanensis, and Toxoplasma gondii on leafy greens . The nested mPCR assay provides a rapid, inexpensive, and simple approach for simultaneous detection of protozoan pathogens on fresh produce .

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McKerr C et al (2015) An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012. PLoS One 10(5):e0125955–e0125955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lalonde LF, Gajadhar AA (2016) Detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis, Cryptosporidium spp., and Toxoplasma gondii on imported leafy green vegetables in Canadian survey. Food Waterborne Parasitol 2:8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Caradonna T et al (2017) Detection and prevalence of protozoan parasites in ready-to-eat packaged salads on sale in Italy. Food Microbiol 67:67–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Dixon B et al (2013) Detection of Cyclospora, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia in ready-to-eat packaged leafy greens in Ontario, Canada. J Food Prot 76(2):307–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Abanyie F et al (2015) 2013 multistate outbreaks of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections associated with fresh produce: focus on the Texas investigations. Epidemiol Infect 143(16):3451–3458

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Scallan E et al (2011) Foodborne illness acquired in the United States - major pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis 17(1):7–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ramos B et al (2013) Fresh fruits and vegetables—an overview on applied methodologies to improve its quality and safety. Innovative Food Sci Emerg Technol 20:1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. CDC (2020) Domestically acquired cases of cyclosporiasis - United States. 13 April 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/2019/a-050119/index.html

  9. Dixon BR (2016) Parasitic illnesses associated with the consumption of fresh produce — an emerging issue in developed countries. Curr Opin Food Sci 8:104–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Betancourt W (2019) Cryptosporidium spp. In: Rose JB, Jiménez-Cisneros B (eds) Global water pathogen project. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, UNESCO

    Google Scholar 

  11. Boarato-David E, Guimarães S, Cacciò S (2017) Giardia duodenalis. In: Rose JB, Jiménez-Cisneros B (eds) Global water pathogen project. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, UNESCO

    Google Scholar 

  12. Jones JL, Dubey JP (2012) Foodborne toxoplasmosis. Clin Infect Dis 55(6):845–851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ekman CCJ et al (2012) Case-control study of an outbreak of acute toxoplasmosis in an industrial plant in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 54:239–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. USEPA (2012) Method 1623.1: Cryptosporidium and Giardia in water by filtration/IMS/FA, EPA-816-R-12-001. Office of Water

    Google Scholar 

  15. Shapiro K et al (2019) Simultaneous detection of four protozoan parasites on leafy greens using a novel multiplex PCR assay. Food Microbiol 84:103252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Travaillé E et al (2016) Development of a qRT-PCR method to assess the viability of Giardia intestinalis cysts, Cryptosporidium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. Food Control 59:359–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hohweyer J et al (2016) Simultaneous detection of the protozoan parasites Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium and Giardia in food matrices and their persistence on basil leaves. Food Microbiol 57:36–44

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Read CM, Monis PT, Thompson RC (2004) Discrimination of all genotypes of Giardia duodenalis at the glutamate dehydrogenase locus using PCR-RFLP. Infect Genet Evol 4(2):125–130

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Appelbee AJ et al (2003) Prevalence and genotyping of Giardia duodenalis from beef calves in Alberta, Canada. Vet Parasitol 112(4):289–294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Bahia-Oliveira L, Gomez-Marin J, Shapiro K (2017) Toxoplasma gondii. In: Rose JB, Jiménez-Cisneros B (eds) Global water pathogen project. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, UNESCO

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hopkins RM et al (1997) Ribosomal RNA sequencing reveals differences between the genotypes of Giardia isolates recovered from humans and dogs living in the same locality. J Parasitol 83(1):44–51

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Manore AJW et al (2019) Comparison of freeze-thaw cycles for nucleic acid extraction and molecular detection of Cryptosporidium parvum and Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in environmental matrices. J Microbiol Methods 156:1–4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Development of the mPCR assay was supported by the Center for Produce Safety and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kim, M., Shapiro, K. (2021). Detection of Protozoan Parasites on Leafy Greens Using Multiplex PCR. In: Magnani, M. (eds) Detection and Enumeration of Bacteria, Yeast, Viruses, and Protozoan in Foods and Freshwater. Methods and Protocols in Food Science . Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1932-2_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1932-2_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1931-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1932-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics