AUTHOR=Villamil Carolina , Calderon Martha Nancy , Arias Maria Mercedes , Leguizamon John Emerson 

TITLE=Validation of Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction for Salmonella spp. Quantification

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01512

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01512

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Salmonellosis is a foodborne disease caused by <italic>Salmonella</italic> spp. Although cell culture is the gold standard for its identification, validated molecular methods are becoming an alternative, because of their rapidity, selectivity, and specificity. A simplex and duplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR)-based method for the identification and quantification of <italic>Salmonella</italic> using <italic>ttr</italic>, <italic>invA, hilA, spaQ</italic>, and <italic>siiA</italic> gene sequences was validated. The method has high specificity, working interval between 8 and 8,000 cp/μL in ddPCR reaction, a limit of detection of 0.5 copies/μL, and precision ranging between 5 and 10% measured as a repeatability standard deviation. The relative standard measurement uncertainty was between 2 and 12%. This tool will improve food safety in national consumption products and will increase the competitiveness in agricultural product trade.</p>