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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2004, p. 1042-1047, Vol. 42, No. 3
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.3.1042-1047.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Applied Microbiology, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund,1 Medprobe, IDEON Science Park, Scheelevägen 17, SE-223 70 Lund,2 Quintessence Research AB, Målarvägen 9, SE-746 93 Bålsta, Sweden3
Received 25 August 2003/ Returned for modification 2 November 2003/ Accepted 14 November 2003
The development of real-time PCR thermal cycles in the late 1990s has opened up the possibility of accurate quantification of microorganisms in clinical, environmental, and food samples. However, a lack of suitable sample preparation methods that allow rapid quantification of the nucleic acids, remove PCR inhibitors, and prevent false-positive results due to DNA originating from dead cells has limited the use of quantitative PCR. We have used for the first time a new variant of density gradient centrifugation, called flotation, as a user-friendly sample preparation method prior to PCR. This paper describes the use of this sample preparation method, without DNA purification, for direct detection and quantification of Yersinia enterocolitica in PCR-inhibitory meat juice from pork. Flotation combined with qPCR could overcome PCR interference in juice from pork, as was shown by amplification efficiencies of 1.006 ± 0.021 and 1.007 ± 0.025, which are comparable to the amplification efficiency obtained for purified DNA samples (1.005 ± 0.059). Applying flotation to meat juice samples containing natural background flora and spiked with different levels of Y. enterocolitica showed that direct quantification of Y. enterocolitica was possible down to a level of at least 4.2 x 103 CFU per ml of meat juice, even in the presence of 106 CFU of background flora per ml. Finally, the results showed that samples containing large amounts of Y. enterocolitica DNA did not result in a positive PCR signal. This indicates that the risk of false-positive results due to detection of DNA originating from dead cells can be greatly reduced by using flotation prior to PCR.
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