Light scattering sensor for rapid detection of <i>Bacillus cereus</i> in chicken meats

Abstract

Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic pathogen causing food poisoning, manifested by diarrhea or emetic illnesses. BARDOT (BActerial Rapid Detection using Optical scattering Technology) directly capturing phenotypic characteristics of colonies following standard agar plating, providing non-destructive, high-throughput analysis and real-time detection of colonies on agar plate without any labeling reagents or probes. This study implement light scattering sensor in detection and identification of B. cereus on genus level in mixed cultures and in artificially inoculated chicken samples using PRM (phenol red mannitol) agar. Software analysis and PCR confirmation showed that BARDOT successfully detect 100% of B. cereus in mixed culture and >90% of artificially inoculated chicken samples. This results demonstrates that BARDOT could be used as a screening tool to identify Bacillus cereus from other pathogens and background flora on PRM agar.