Detection of Clostridium botulinum Type C Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tracts of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Authors

P. Nol, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
J.L. Williamson, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
T.E. Rocke, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
T.M. Yuill, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

Date of this Version

October 2004

Comments

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 40(4), 2004, pp. 749–753. © Wildlife Disease Association 2004. Permission to use.

Abstract

We established a method of directly detecting Clostridium botulinum type C cells, while minimizing spore detection, in the intestinal contents of Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). This technique involved extraction of predominantly cellular DNA from tilapia intestinal tracts and used a polymerase chain reaction assay to detect presence of type C₁ toxin gene. We consistently detected C. botulinum type C cells in tilapia gastrointestinal contents at a level of 7.5310⁴ cells per 0.25 g material or 1.9310³ cells. This technique is useful for determining prevalence of the potentially active organisms within a given population of fish and may be adapted to other types of C. botulinum and vertebrate populations as well.