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Multiplex PCR for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in foods

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Abstract

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is well known enterohemorrhagic pathogen responsible for infections among animals including a man. The main source of this bacterium is cattle, that is mostly asymptomatic and through that E. coli O157:H7 can simple transfer to food products. Therefore, there is a need for rapid, sensitive and specific detection method. The present work is focused on its detection by a heptaplex polymerase chain reaction, which targets genes from known virulent regions of E. coli O157:H7. According to obtained results this approach is able to reach the detection sensitivity of 4 colony-forming units (CFU) from a culture and 6 and 8 CFU from milk and meat samples, respectively, independently of tested sample volume.

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Abbreviations

CFU:

colony-forming units

EHEC:

enterohemorrhagic E. coli

LB:

Luria-Bertani broth

PBS:

phosphate buffered saline

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

SMAC:

sorbitol MacConkey agar

Stx:

shiga-like toxin

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, SK-84551, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Barbora Vidová & Andrej Godány

  2. EL spol. s r.o., Radlinského 17A, SK-05201, Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia

    Eva Tóthová & Ľuboslav Blahut

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of SS Cyril and Methodius, Nám. J. Herdu 2, SK-91701, Trnava, Slovakia

    Viera Horváthová & Andrej Godány

Authors
  1. Barbora Vidová
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  2. Eva Tóthová
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  3. Ľuboslav Blahut
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  4. Viera Horváthová
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  5. Andrej Godány
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Correspondence to Barbora Vidová.

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Vidová, B., Tóthová, E., Blahut, Ľ. et al. Multiplex PCR for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in foods. Biologia 66, 401–405 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-011-0052-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-011-0052-z

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