Determination of Yersinia enterocolitica in Food by Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser Induced Fluorescence Detection

A duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-capillary electrophoresis-laser induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) method was developed to determine Yersinia enterocolitica in food sensitively, rapidly, and reliably. Two sets of primers were selected to amplify the genus-specific 16S ribosomal RNA gene and ail gene associated with the pathogenicity of Yersinia enterocolitica. The parameters of duplex PCR and the conditions for CE-LIF were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the PCR products of Yersinia enterocolitica were determined within twenty minutes. Alignment analysis showed favorable agreement with published sequences from GenBank, indicating that the primers were specific and the PCR results were reliable. The method detected 16 colony forming units per milliliter pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica. The intraday precision of migration time of the DNA marker and the PCR products were between 1.13 and 1.81 percent. In summary, a new method combining duplex PCR and CE-LIF is reported for specific, sensitive, and reproducible detection of Yersinia enterocolitica in food with low sample consumption and cost.