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Optimizing Gdna Purification And Qpcr Techniques For Specific Detection And Enumeration Of Probiotic Bacteria, Katelynn C. Lee, Jennifer Vanderkelen, Christopher Kitts

STAR Program Research Presentations

Probiotics are live microorganisms, like bacteria and yeast, which are thought to provide health benefits when ingested. Large manufacturers produce blends of probiotics for supplementing the diets of agriculturally important animals. Commercial probiotic products are labeled with the number of cells present at the time of manufacture. Our assignment was to develop an assay which can be used to quantify the number of specific lactic acid bacteria present in certain probiotic products, thus verifying the number reported on the product labels. This quantification process involves isolating genomic DNA (gDNA) from the given samples and then running the DNA through a …