Multiplex PCR for detection of the three enterotoxigenic genes in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect the three enterotoxigenic genes LT,STⅠ,STⅡ in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli from porcine Three different sets of oligonucleotide primer were simultaneously used to amplify the enterotoxin genes of heat labile (LT) and heat stable (STⅠ and STⅡ) enterotoxins of ETEC These primers amplified the 110,237 or 368 base pair DNA fragments from LT,STⅠ and STⅡ genes of the restriction endonuclease,the expected target DNA fragments were obtained There was no cross reaction with the non ETEC strains The results indicate that the PCR is a rapid,sensitive and specific method for detecting ETEC