Yang et al. [39] used nanoparticles for IMS and showed better capture and detection of
L. monocytogenes in milk with real-time PCR (9%) compared with plate counts (6%). This may be because qPCR detects DNA from nonviable or viable but non-culturable cells, which may not otherwise be detected by traditional plating methods [62, 63]. The fiber-optic sensor operates based on the principles of antibody-antigen interaction and is marketed by Research International. It is currently used for foodborne or biothreat agent detection [31]. The Adriamycin concentration antibody (MAb-2D12) used in this study on the optical waveguide made the assay highly specific for L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii, with the detection limit of 3 × 102 CFU/ml, a significant improvement over previous reports. Geng et al. [46] used MAb-C11E9 to show cross-reaction with some L. innocua strains with LOD of 4.3 × 103 CFU/ml. Using a polyclonal anti-Listeria capture antibody and an InlA-specific aptamer as find more a reporter, Ohk et al. [48] reported specific detection of L. monocytogenes with a LOD of 103 CFU/mL. Conclusions
We developed highly specific anti-InlA MAb (2D12) against pathogenic Listeria: L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii and anti-p30 MAb (3F8) against all Listeria spp. including the two new species (L. marthii and L. rocourtiae). Anti-InlA antibody allowed specific detection of low levels (3 × 102 CFU/ml) of L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii when used on IMS and a fiber-optic sensor in the presence of other bacteria from buffer, soft cheese or hotdogs inoculated with low levels of cells (10–40 CFU/g) following enrichment. Methods Culture and growth conditions All bacterial cultures (Additional file 3: Table S1) were maintained on brain heart infusion (BHI; Acumedia, Lansing, MI) agar plates at 4°C with the exception of lactic acid bacteria, Ribonuclease T1 which were maintained on de Man Rogosa Sharpe agar (MRS; Becton Dickinson [BD], Sparks, MD).
To obtain fresh cultures, Listeria spp. were grown in tryptic soy broth (TSB; BD) containing 0.6% yeast extract (TSB-YE) or Listeria enrichment broth (LEB; BD) at 37°C for 16–18 h. Non-Listeria organisms were grown in TSB-YE, and lactic acid bacteria were grown in MRS broth at 37°C for 16–18 h. Fraser Broth (FB) and modified Oxford agar (MOX) were purchased from BD. All bacteria were maintained in BHI broth with 20% glycerol at −80°C until further use. Cloning of inlA and immunogen preparation Specific primers (MWG-Biotech, Huntsville, AL) were designed to target the inlA gene (GenBank acc. no.: DQ132795) using Vector NTI 10.0 software (Invitrogen) in order to amplify the complete open reading frame (2331 bp) except for the signal peptide and a C-terminal portion.