Development of a real-time PCR assay for quantification of Citrobacter rodentium

Abstract Molecular tools to quantify Citrobacter rodentium are not available. We developed a quantitative PCR assay targeting the espB gene. This assay is specific, has a linearity range of about 6.7 × 10 1 to 6.7 × 10 6  cells/PCR reaction (92% efficiency) and a detection limit of about 10 4  cells/g wet feces.