title: Detection of Clostridium botulinum type C cells in the gastrointestinal tracts of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) by polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: We established a method of directly detecting Clostridium botulinum type C cells, while minimizing spore detection, in the intestinal contents of Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). This technique involved extraction of predominantly cellular DNA from tilapia intestinal tracts and used a polymerase chain reaction assay to detect presence of type C1 toxin gene. We consistently detected C. botulinum type C cells in tilapia gastrointestinal contents at a level of 7.5 x 104 cells per 0.25 g material or 1.9 x 103 cells. This technique is useful for determining prevalence of the potentially active organisms within a given population of fish and may be adapted to other types of C. botulinum and vertebrate populations as well.
authors.affiliation: USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA. pauline.nol@aphis.usda.gov
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nol
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Rocke
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Yuill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology; D001906:Botulism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D047968:Clostridium botulinum type C / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D020387:Food Chain; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D009073:Mozambique / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D017210:Tilapia / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial