• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2003

The study was conducted to develope a rapid method for the detection of Yersinia enterocolitica in spring water and vegetables via multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique using ail, yst, uirF and subgenus-specific Y16S primers. Specificity and sensitivity of multiplex PCR and application of best primers for the detection of Y. enterocolitica from spring water and vegetables were investigeted. Y. enterocolitica ATCC 27729 strains gave 356 bP and 200 bp (Y16S) and 134 bp (yst) bands. but Y. enterocolitica ATCC 9610 and ATCC 23715 strains gave 200 bp and 134 bp bands.In the meanwhile, non-pathogenic Yersinia species, such as Y. frederikseni, Y. inter-media, Y. kristenseni and Y. pseudotuberculosis gave only single 200 bp band, and other bacteria including Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 25392, Shigella dysenteri. Staphylococcu aureus ATCC 25923 and Listeria mo-nocytogenes ATCC 19111 did not show any bands. Among primers, yst and Y16S primer showed the best sensitivity. Seven CFU/mL Y. enterocolitica cells could be detected with yst and Y16S primers and the sensitivity was significantly improved by the further 2nd PCR after 38 cycles of first PCR amplication. Spring water, cabbage and mushroom were inoculated with Y. enterocolitica to determine the sensitivity of multiplex-PCR for the rapid detection of Y. enterocolitica. Multiplex-PCR assay could detect 7 or 70 cells in spring water and vegetables using whole cell lysate with repeating PCR amplication.