Flow cytometry and RT-PCR for rotavirus detection in artificially seeded oyster meat

A flow cytometry (FC)-based method was developed for the detection of rotavirus in oyster meat using simian rotavirus SA11 as a model. To study virus recovery, oyster meat was injected with rotavirus and the oyster extract used to infect MA104 cell monolayers. Following varying periods of infection, the cells were recovered and reacted with the monoclonal antibody M60 which is specific for the rotavirus group A serotypes 1–4 outer capsid protein, VP7, followed by a second antibody (anti mouse IgG-FITC). A FACScan® FC was used to estimate the number of infected cells as well as the level of infection. To evaluate the sensitivity of the method, non-inoculated oysters were processed following the same extraction protocol and, at the end, they were seeded with the same amount of virus used for oyster inoculation. This seeded oyster extract was then used to infect MA104 cells and the number of infected cells determined using the same FC procedure. A semi-nested two-step PCR for detection of rotavirus nucleic acid was undertaken to compare the sensitivity of FC with RT-PCR. Using FC, as little as 0.02 flow cytometry units (fcu) (number of infected cells counted by FC) could be detected after 72 h of cell infection. This is a very similar limit of sensitivity to that obtained with RT-PCR. Both methods are approximately 100 times more sensitive than the plaque-forming units (pfu) assay.