Review

DNA based methods used for characterization and detection of food borne bacterial pathogens with special consideration to recent rapid methods

Dinesh Prasad* and Ambarish Sharan Vidyarthi

Department of Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835 215, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: bitdinesh@rediffmail.com. Tel: 00919934355682, 91-651-2276223. Fax: 91-651-2276590.

Accepted 5 March, 2009

Detection of food borne pathogen is of outmost importance in the food industries and related agencies. For the last few decades conventional methods were used to detect food borne pathogens based on phenotypic characters. At the advent of complementary base pairing and amplification of DNA, the diagnosis of food pathogen became rapid and target specific. RNA based methods such as NASBA and Real Time RT-PCR are even more sensitive as they reflect pathogen viability in food system. This review describes various DNA based methods that are used widely in detection of food pathogens. Recent rapid methods become more robust with the incorporation of PCR in assays. Simultaneously, the advances in nano-biotechnology have allowed miniature devices permitting development of portable hand held biosensor for the detection of food pathogens.

Key words:  Food borne pathogens, molecular techniques, PCR, rapid identification techniques.