Real-Time PCR Method for Quantification of Staphylococcus aureus in Milk

A reproducible real-time PCR method that targets the putative transcriptional regulator gene of Staphylococcus aureus was developed to quantify this microorganism in milk samples. On the basis of partial sequences of this gene determined from S. aureus strains, we designed the specific primers and probe for use in a quantitative PCR assay. These specificities were confirmed with 25 strains of S. aureus and 35 strains of other bacteria. A real-time PCR assay with serial 10-fold dilutions of purified DNA and pure culture was conducted. It was possible to construct standard curves with a high correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.99) in the range of 50 ng to 50 fg for purified DNA and 107 to 101 CFU/ml for a pure culture. The constructed standard curve for milk samples was similar to that for the pure culture, and the quantification of S. aureus in the range of 107 to 101 CFU/ml was possible. Moreover, to determine how our real-time PCR method would perform under actual analytical conditions, we quantified the DNA...