Development of a real-time PCR method coupled with a selective pre-enrichment step for quantification of Morganella morganii and Morganella psychrotolerans in fish products

Type Article
Date 2015-06
Language English
Author(s) Podeur Gaetan1, 2, 3, Dalgaard Paw4, Leroi FrancoiseORCID1, Prevost Herve2, 3, Ernborg Jette4, Martinussen Jan5, Hansen Lars Hestbjerg6, Filet Marie-France2, 3
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Lab Microbial Ecosyst & Marine Mol Biotechnol, Nantes, France.
2 : LUNAM Univ, Secalim, Oniris, UMR1014, Nantes, France.
3 : INRA, F-44026 Nantes, France.
4 : Tech Univ Denmark, Natl Food Inst DTU Food, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
5 : Tech Univ Denmark, DTU Syst Biol, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
6 : Aarhus Univ, Dept Environm Sci, Roskilde, Denmark.
Source International Journal Of Food Microbiology (0168-1605) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2015-06 , Vol. 203 , P. 55-62
DOI 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.03.005
WOS© Times Cited 16
Keyword(s) Histamine-producing bacteria, Tuna, Selective medium, Enterobacteriaceae, Galactokinase, Type VI secretion system
Abstract Histamine fish poisoning is common and due to toxic concentrations of histamine often produced by Gram-negative bacteria in fin-fish products with a high content of the free amino acid histidine. The genus Morganella includes two species previously reported to cause incidents of histamine fish poisoning. Morganella morganii and Morganella psychrotolerans are both strong producer of histamine. However, little is known about the occurrence and critical stages for fish contamination with these bacteria. To elucidate contamination routes of Morganella, specific real-time quantitative PCR (RTi qPCR) methods for quantification of M. morganii and M. psychrotolerans have been developed. Selective primers amplified a 110 bp region of the vasD gene for M. psychrotolerans and a 171 bp region of the galactokinase gene for M. morganii. These primer-sets showed high specificity as demonstrated by using purified DNA from 23 other histamine producing bacteria and 26 isolates with no or limited histamine production. The efficiency of the qPCR reactions on artificially contaminated fish samples were 100.8% and 96.3% respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) without enrichment was 4 log CFU/g. A quantitative enrichment step with a selective medium was included and improved the sensitivity of the methods to a LOQ of below 50 CFU/g in seafood. RTi qPCR with or without enrichment were evaluated for enumeration of Morganella species in naturally contaminated fresh fish and lightly preserved seafood from Denmark. These new methods will contribute to a better understanding of the occurrence and histamine production by Morganella species in fish products, information that is essential to reduce the unacceptably high frequency of histamine fish poisoning.
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Podeur Gaetan, Dalgaard Paw, Leroi Francoise, Prevost Herve, Ernborg Jette, Martinussen Jan, Hansen Lars Hestbjerg, Filet Marie-France (2015). Development of a real-time PCR method coupled with a selective pre-enrichment step for quantification of Morganella morganii and Morganella psychrotolerans in fish products. International Journal Of Food Microbiology, 203, 55-62. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.03.005 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00254/36551/