| dc.description.abstract |
The present investigation was envisaged to determine the prevalence and
identify the different Salmonella serovar in seafood from Cochin area. Though, the
distribution of Salmonella serovars in different seafood samples of Cochin has been
well documented, the present attempt was made to identify the different Salmonella
serovars and determine its prevalence in various seafoods. First pan of this
investigation involved the isolation and identification of Salmonella strains with the
help of different conventional culture methods. The identified isolates were used for the
further investigation i.e. serotyping, this provides the information about the prevalent
serovars in seafood. The prevalent Salmonella strains have been further characterized based on the utilization of different sugars and amino acids, to identify the different
biovar of a serovar.A major research gap was observed in molecular characterization of Salmonella
in seafood. Though, previous investigations reported the large number of Salmonella
serovars from food sources in India, yet, very few work has been reported regarding
genetic characterization of Salmonella serovars associated with food. Second part of
this thesis deals with different molecular fingerprint profiles of the Salmonella serovars
from seafood. Various molecular typing methods such as plasmid profiling,
characterization of virulence genes, PFGE, PCR- ribotyping, and ERIC—PCR have been
used for the genetic characterization of Salmonella serovars.The conventional culture methods are mainly used for the identification of
Salmonella in seafood and most of the investigations from India and abroad showed the
usage of culture method for detection of Salmonella in seafood. Hence, development of
indigenous, rapid molecular method is most desirable for screening of Salmonella in
large number of seafood samples at a shorter time period. Final part of this study
attempted to develop alternative, rapid molecular detection method for the detection of
Salmonella in seafood. Rapid eight—hour PCR assay has been developed for detection
of Salmonella in seafood. The performance of three different methods viz., culture,
ELISA and PCR assays were evaluated for detection of Salmonella in seafood and the
results were statistically analyzed. Presence of Salmonella cells in food and
enviromnental has been reported low in number, hence, more sensitive method for
enumeration of Salmonella in food sample need to be developed. A quantitative realtime
PCR has been developed for detection of Salmonella in seafood. This method
would be useful for quantitative detection of Salmonella in seafood. |
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