In this study we have applied a PMA pretreatment in combination
with multiplex PCR (mPCR) for the specific and fast detection
of viable enterotoxin and emetic toxin producing strains of
B. cereus. A highly specific and sensitive primer for the detection of
emetic strains (ces primer) and four primer sets for the detection of
major enterotoxin genes (nheA, hblD, entFM and cytK) were used in
the study to maximize the detection range for the enterotoxic
strains since they show a high variety in their enterotoxin gene
profiles (Forghani et al., 2014). Thus, a PMA-mPCR assay for the
one-step detection and differentiation of viable B. cereus emetic and
enterotoxic strains in food was developed. This developed tool can
also be used for the toxin profiling of food products in case of
B. cereus contamination which can be helpful for the patients
treatment due to specific type of intoxication in each individual
person.