Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes in kimchi by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR).

We developed an mPCR assay for the simultaneous detection, in one tube, of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes using species-specific primers. The mPCR employed the E. coli O157:H7 specific primer Stx2A, Salmonella spp. specific primer Its, S. aureus specific primer Cap8A-B and L. monocytogenes specific primer Hly. Amplification with these primers produced products of 553, 312, 405 and 210 bp, respectively. All PCR products were easily detected by agarose gel electrophoresis, and the sequences of the specific amplicons assessed. Potential pathogenic bacteria, in laboratory-prepared and four commercially available kimchi products, were using this mPCR assay, and the amplicons cloned and sequenced. The results correlated exactly with sequences derived for amplicons obtained during preliminry tests with known organisms. The sensitivity of the assay was determined for the purified pathogen DNAs from four strains. The mPCR detected pathogen DNA at concentrations ranging from approximately 0.45 to 0.05 pM/microl. Thus, this mPCR assay may allow for the rapid, reliable and cost-effective identification of four potentially pathogens present in the mixed bacterial communities of commercially available kimchi.