Development of a PCR assay for the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Brandenburg.

Currently, Salmonella enterica serovar Brandenburg is identified serologically on the basis of two surface antigens, somatic (O) polysaccharide and flagellar (H) proteins. This procedure is time-consuming and requires expensive typing reagents. To overcome these problems, a PCR method was developed and validated for the identification of S. Brandenburg. Portions of the invA, rfbJ(B), fliC and fljB genes were targeted for amplification using four pairs of oligonucleotide primers. To validate the assay, genomic DNA from an array of 72 Salmonella strains representing 28 serotypes and 5 non-Salmonella strains from 4 different genera was subjected to PCR. The four targeted genes were correctly amplified only from S. Brandenburg. These results indicate that this PCR assay is a simple, rapid, reliable and reproducible method for the identification of S. Brandenburg that will aid in surveillance, prevention and control of this pathogen.