Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is categorized a major foodborne pathogen responsible for number of serious diseases in both human and veterinary field. The current study was carried out to spotlight on the bacteriological and genetic detection of L.monocytogenes obtained from fillet fish samples. A total of one-hundred fillet fish samples were collected from Menoufia governorate and subjected to bacteriological analysis onto three specific and selective medium. The over prevalence rate was 7% (7/100). The typical colony characters of L.monocytogenes on Oxford medium appear as colonies of gray and or black color encompassed with a black halo, while, on CHROMagar medium, it give blue/green colonies. On blood ager medium it exhibit narrow zone of β hemolysis. The use of recent modern molecular techniques such as mPCR was detected as effective alternative approach for the identification of 16SrRNA of L.monocytogenes at 938 bp and efficient amplification the hlyA gene at 702 bp. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the importance of 16SrRNA for specific identification L.monocytogenes in fillet fish samples and recommended the importance of excellent quality cooking for food particular fillet fish to avoid infection with L. monocytogenes for human consumers.

Key words: L.monocytogenes, fillet fish, mPCR, hlyA gene