Results
Specificity of primers of the m-PCR
Evaluation of the specificity of the m-PCR primers from different bacterial strains was determined by the m-PCR method (Table 1). A mixture of six primer pairs and each DNA template prepared from 32 different bacterial isolates
as listed in Table 1 was carried out by the m-PCR. The results indicated that each primer pair was specific for the
corresponding target organisms (Table 1). By using the amplification reactions for the m-PCR, the target genes of Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, S. aureus and Y. enterocolitica were tested for their specificities. The unambiguous detection of pathogenspecific genes (Salmonella invA gene: 119 bp; L. monocytogenes hlyA gene: 404 bp; E. coli O157:H7 rfbE gene: 678 bp; Y. enterocolitica ail gene: 170 bp; S. aureus nuc gene: 270 bp) and the bacterial control gene (16S rRNA: 1,300 bp) is evident in Fig. 1.