Development of a polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in foods.
Species-specific oligonucleotide primers were selected from the coding region of the listeriolysin O gene of Listeria monocytogenes and were used in conjunction with genus-specific primers and an internal control fragment for polymerase chain reaction amplification. The specificity of the primers was confirmed by testing 40 isolates of L. monocytogenes, other Listeria species and other micro-organisms which are ubiquitous in the environment. The reliability of these primers was further tested in parallel with standard cultural methods. In a preliminary study, over 250 different food samples were examined and PCR results were in complete agreement with those obtained from standard cultural procedures.
Bansal
N S
NS
Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, NSW Health Department, Lidcombe, Australia.
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C038705:hlyA protein, Listeria monocytogenes