title: Specific oligonucleotide primers for detection of lecithinase-positive Bacillus spp. by PCR.
abstract: An assay based on the PCR has been developed to facilitate detection and identification of Bacillus cereus in foods. Three primers for the PCR have been designed within the sequence for cereolysin AB, a cytolytic determinant that encodes lecithin-hydrolyzing and hemolytic activities of B. cereus. With the PCR and hybridization, the specificity of the primers was tested with 39 isolates of the B. cereus group, with 17 other Bacillus spp., and with 21 non-Bacillus strains. Results demonstrate a high specificity of the three oligonucleotides for isolates of the B. cereus group. With a combined PCR-hybridization assay, the detection limit for B. cereus in artificially contaminated milk was 1 CFU/ml of milk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schraft
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010740:Phospholipases / Q000032:analysis*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010740:Phospholipases