title: PCR-based detection of non-indigenous microorganisms in 'pristine' environments.
abstract: PCR-based technologies are widely employed for the detection of specific microorganisms, and may be applied to the identification of non-indigenous microorganisms in 'pristine' environments. For 'pristine' environments such as those found on the Antarctic continent, the application of these methods to the assessment of environmental contamination from human activities must be treated with caution. Issues such as the possibility of non-human dispersal of organisms, stability and survival of non-indigenous organisms in vivo, the sensitivity, reproducibility and specificity of the PCR process (and particularly primer design) and the sampling regime employed must all be considered in detail. We conclude that despite these limitations, PCR and related technologies offer enormous scope for assessment of both natural and non-indigenous microbial distributions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa. gbaker@uwc.ac.za
authors.forename: Gillian C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Lemese Ah
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Tow
authors.forename: Don A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cowan
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017931:DNA Primers; D017753:Ecosystem; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers