title: PCR detection of Salmonella spp. using primers targeting the quorum sensing gene sdiA.
abstract: Bacteria communicate with one another and with their host using chemical signalling molecules. This phenomenon is generally described as quorum sensing. A set of primers for PCR detection of Salmonella spp. has been designed using as target the sdiA gene which encodes a signal receptor of the LuxR family. The PCR product (274 bp) was confirmed by sequencing. A number of 81 non-Salmonella strains (representing 24 different species) were tested and gave negative results, while a total of 101 different serotypes of Salmonella (155 strains) tested positive for the presence of the sdiA gene. The sensitivity and specificity of the sdiA-based PCR assay were also checked in artificially contaminated human faecal samples. In this study, we demonstrate that quorum sensing genes can be successfully exploited as diagnostic markers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Nutritional Science, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halatsi
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Oikonomou
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lambiri
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mandilara
authors.forename: Alkiviadis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vatopoulos
authors.forename: Adamantini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kyriacou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019779:Salmonella enterica / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C097686:SdiA protein, bacteria; D015534:Trans-Activators