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Real-Time Qpcr Assay Development For Detection Of Bacillus Thuringiensis And Serratia Marcescens Dna And The Influence Of Complex Microbial Community Dna On Assay Sensitivity, Jonathan Segal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time qPCR) assays are an effective technique to detect biological warfare agents and surrogate organisms. In my study, primers were designed to detect chromosomal DNA of biological warfare agent surrogates B. thuringiensis and S. marcescens (representing B. anthracis and Y. pestis, respectively) via real-time qPCR. Species-level specificity of the primers was demonstrated through comparisons with a bacterial strain panel and corroborated by qPCR data. Additionally, the primer efficacy was tested when template DNA was spiked into metagenomic DNA extracted from clinical lung microbiome samples. The results showed that while detection of B. thuringiensis or …