DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A PRIMER SET FOR SPECIFIC DETECTION OFBACILLUS-THURINGIENSIS AND BACILLUS-CEREUS IN SOIL USING MAGNETIC CAPTURE HYBRIDIZATION AND PCR AMPLIFICATION

A primer target to the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C ( PI-PLC) gene from Bacillus thuringiensis was shown to differentiate st rains of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis from a variety of soil Bacillu s spp, and gram-negative bacteria. It tvas possible to detect the indi genous populations of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis in Geld rhizosphe re soil samples using the magnetic capture hybridization (MCH - PCR) t echnique, The high specificity of the primer set in B. cereus and B. t huringiensis indicates that the PI-PLC gene can be used as a specific target for MCH-PCR detection in complex environment as soil.