The use of a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for identification and enumeration of Lactobacillus buchneri in silage.
OBJECTIVE
To detect and quantify Lactobacillus buchneri in plant samples with the aid of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods.


RESULTS
DNA from silage samples spiked with different amounts of L. buchneri cells was isolated using a lysozyme/sodium dodecyl sulfate lysis and phenol/chloroform extraction method. The DNA served as a template for PCR amplification with primers specific for the bacterium. The primers were developed by comparison of 16S rDNA sequences from different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and testing for specificity with 11 different strains of LAB. As few as 100 L. buchneri colony-forming units per gram of silage could be detected. Additionally, the technique was successfully applied to quantify the population of L. buchneri in two cultivars of corn with or without inoculation.


CONCLUSIONS
The PCR assay provided a specific and rapid tool for identifying and enumerating L. buchneri in silage samples.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of microbial inoculants for silage production is a safe and environment friendly practice, but the full potential of such additives can only be achieved with a better understanding of the fate and activity of the microbes involved. The current study describes a methodology to detect and enumerate L. buchneri, a micro-organism used as an inoculant.
Schmidt
R J
RJ
Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Emara
M G
MG
Kung
L
L
D000821:Animal Feed; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012820:Silage / Q000382:microbiology*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000382:microbiology*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial