SELECTIVE ENRICHMENT AND DETECTION OF MICROORGANISMS

摘要

A method of enriching the population of a target microorganism in a sample, comprises incubating the sample in a pre-enrichment medium, with one or more selective agents to favour growth of the target microorganism arranged for release into the medium after a predetermined time delay. The method of the invention combines pre-enrichment and selective enrichment steps by use of timed release of the selective agent(s). This has the benefits of reducing the amount of manipulation and labour necessary for these stages, and also of reducing the amount of time required for these stages. It has been found that these stages can be satisfactorily completed within 24 hours, without the need for operator intervention. The enrichment can be followed by identification of the target microorganism, using any appropriate technique, either conventional or rapid. Using rapid identification techniques, total test time can be reduced to a little over 24 hours. The invention finds particular application in the analysis of samples of foodstuffs and beverages in the enrichment and identification of a wide range of foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and E. coli 0157, but can also be used in connection with a wider range of target organisms from a much wider range of sample types including environmental samples.