Simultaneous Detection of 10 Foodborne Pathogens using Capillary Electrophoresis-Based Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism

Abstract

This report outlines the development of a rapid, simple, and sensitive detection system for pathogenic bacteria using a capillary electrophoresis-based, single strand conformation polymorphism (CE-SSCP) combined with PCR. We demonstrate that this method, used with primers targeting the V4 region of the16S rRNA gene, is capable of the simultaneous detection of 10 microbes that could be associated with foodborne illness, caused by animal-derived foods: Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Enterobacter sakazakii. The traditional detection techniques are time-consuming and labor-intensive, due to the necessary task of separate cultivation of each target species. As such, the CE-SSCP-PCR method, that we have developed, has the potential to diagnose pathogens rapidly, unlike the traditional technique, in order to prevent foodborne illness in a much more efficient manner.

Recent advances in the application of capillary electromigration methods for food analysis and Foodomics

“…To this regard, there is much interest in the development of new methods allowing the rapid, sensitive, and simultaneous detection of food‐borne pathogenic species. With that aim, Oh et al have developed a CE‐ SSCP method for the detection of ten food‐borne pathogenic bacteria. In their study, authors investigated the suitability of three diferent regions of 16S rRNA for discriminant analysis of bacteria.…”