mericon Salmonella spp Kit

The mericon Salmonella spp Kit is for the specific detection of several Salmonella species in enrichment cultures of food and animal feed samples. The assay can detect as few as 10 copies of salmonella DNA in a reaction and it exhibits high specificity for pathogens of this genus. In an experiment using 2500 copies of the tested DNA, no cross-reactivity was observed with other pathogens (see the table "Results of mericon Salmonella spp Kit cross-reactivity study").

Results of mericon Salmonella spp Kit cross-reactivity study

The mericon Salmonella spp Kit is designed for the qualitative detection of several salmonella species in food and animal feed samples after enrichment. Since salmonella can be found in food matrices such as meat, vegetables, or eggs, infection is likely to be through food-borne transmission. Salmonella bacteria produce an enterotoxin, which in most cases results in diarrhea, but can cause life-threatening symptoms in elderly persons.

Detection of pathogens using real-time PCR is based on the amplification of a specific region of the relevant pathogen genome. The amplified product is detected using target-specific fluorescent probes that bind to it. As the PCR product accumulates, there is an increased fluorescent signal from the bound probes. Monitoring the fluorescence intensities during the PCR run (i.e., in real time) allows the detection of the accumulating PCR product without having to re-open the reaction tubes afterward.

mericon PCR Assays include an internal control to control potential inhibition. This aids in the straightforward interpretation of the results (see the table "Summary of possible PCR outcomes").

The PCR primer set for each assay is highly specific and targets a unique and conserved region of the tested pathogen genome that has been bioinformatically and experimentally verified.

DNA is extracted from an enrichment culture of a sample of food or animal feed using a dedicated sample preparation kit. The mericon Bacteria Kit is for the isolation of bacterial DNA from Gram-negative bacteria. The mericon Bacteria Plus Kit is for the isolation of bacterial DNA from Gram-positive bacteria.

The isolated, pure bacterial DNA is assayed using a streamlined real-time PCR protocol that returns results in 73 minutes on QIAGEN's Rotor-Gene Q. The protocol has also been validated for use on other thermal block cyclers.

The results are displayed as easy-to-interpret PCR curves.