Design of specific DNA primers to detect the Bacillus cereus group species

One of the most prevalent pathogens that cause foodborne outbreaks is the Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) group species (spp.) generally found in different types of food. Recently many researchers are focusing towards the progress of rapid methods to detect foodborne pathogens. Every year many innovative methodologies for bacterial detection are being developed to improve sensitivity and speed of detection. DNA biosensor is one of the proposed solutions for the detection of foodborne pathogens which can be used for food quality assurance. This paper reports that the DNA sequences named BCFomp1/BCRomp1 can be used for the specific detection of the B. cereus group spp. Analysis of these primers using standard PCR analysis showed that the minimum level of detection was 103 CFU/ml. The lowest number of bacterial cell per reaction tube that can be amplified was 5 CFU and the minimum quantity of DNA that can be amplified was found to be 1pg.