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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4685-4693, Vol. 67, No. 10
Rapid Microbial Detection Facility, Department of Food
Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana 70803
Received 7 May 2001/Accepted 25 June 2001
Vibrio cholerae is recognized as a leading human
waterborne pathogen. Traditional diagnostic testing for
Vibrio is not always reliable, because this
bacterium can enter a viable but nonculturable state. Therefore,
nucleic acid-based tests have emerged as a useful alternative to
traditional enrichment testing. In this article, a TaqMan
PCR assay is presented for quantitative detection of V.
cholerae in pure cultures, oysters, and synthetic seawater. Primers and probe were designed from the nonclassical hemolysin (hlyA) sequence of V. cholerae
strains. This probe was applied to DNA from 60 bacterial strains
comprising 21 genera. The TaqMan PCR assay was positive for all of the
strains of V. cholerae tested and negative for all
other species of Vibrio tested. In addition, none
of the other genera tested was amplified with the TaqMan primers and
probe used in this study. The results of the TaqMan PCR with raw
oysters and spiked with V. cholerae serotypes O1 and O139 were comparable to those of pure cultures. The sensitivity of
the assay was in the range of 6 to 8 CFU g
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4685-4693.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
TaqMan PCR for Detection of Vibrio cholerae O1,
O139, Non-O1, and Non-O139 in Pure Cultures, Raw Oysters, and
Synthetic Seawater

1 and 10 CFU ml
1 in spiked raw oyster and synthetic seawater
samples, respectively. The total assay could be completed in 3 h.
Quantification of the Vibrio cells was linear over at
least 6 log units. The TaqMan probe and primer set developed in this
study can be used as a rapid screening tool for the presence of
V. cholerae in oysters and seawater without prior
isolation and characterization of the bacteria by traditional
microbiological methods.
*
Present address: Rapid Microbial Detection Facility,
Baton Rouge, LA 70803. Phone: (225) 761-0919. E-mail:
WandaLyon{at}msn.com.
This is journal paper no. 120 of the Louisiana Agricultural
Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, La. (project: S-263).
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