Identification of unwanted microbial contaminants microscopically observed in food products is challenging due to their low abundance in a complex matrix, quite often containing other microorganisms. Therefore, a selective identification method was developed using laser capture microdissection in combination with direct-captured cell PCR. This procedure was validated with Geobacillus stearothermophilus and further used to identify microbial contaminants present in some industrial milk samples. The microscopically observed contaminants were identified as mainly Methylobacterium species.
Keywords: bacterial contamination; cultivation-independent identification; direct-captured cell PCR; laser capture microdissection.
Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.