Rapid identification of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in probiotic products using multiplex PCR

J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007 Mar;17(3):490-5.

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract and reinforce immunity in human health. Recently, many functional products using the lactic acid bacteria have been developed. Among these LAB, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum are frequently used for probiotic products. In order to monitor these LAB in commercial probiotic products, a multiplex PCR method was developed. We designed four species-specific primer pairs for multiplex PCR from the 16S rRNA, 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region, and 23S rRNA genes in Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum. Using these primer pairs, 4 different LAB were detected with high specificity in functional foods. We suggest that the multiplex PCR method developed in this study would be an efficient tool for simple, rapid, and reliable identification of LAB used as probiotic strains.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Typing Techniques*
  • Bifidobacterium / classification*
  • Bifidobacterium / genetics
  • Bifidobacterium / isolation & purification
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial / analysis
  • DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / analysis
  • Humans
  • Lactobacillus / classification*
  • Lactobacillus / genetics
  • Lactobacillus / isolation & purification
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus / classification
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus / genetics
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus / isolation & purification
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Probiotics*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Species Specificity
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 23S